Because Living Skeletons Are Fascinating
by Sameo
Summary: Wanna take a look at the mountain? No more sure about theories...
1. Chapter 1

Hi over there, my name is Anthy. Here I am gonna tell you about a story that occured...

Well, hell no, that is happening currently in fact ! But, you know... just to add to the lyricism of the story, I'm gonna write it in the past tense.

/

So, here I was now... with my best friend Théo in the kitchen, eating our usual afternoon collation together. He was explaining me some strange story that one of his other friends had told him about a few days ago.

« He came back after his long journey under the mountain that I was telling you about... and told me he met some weird creatures, all that... Hahaha, but you know, he must have a strange imagination sometimes. »

I raised an eyebrow, eager to hear some more from him, but nothing.

« Uh... oh. Well, he's kept some souvenirs with him ? »

« I... I don't know. I never asked him, but that's a right question to ask I guess ! »

I smiled, he smiled... I started laughing... he did too... we both did now.

« Aaah, hahahaha... »

« Hahahaha... »

« Ehh... ha... ha...ha... »

« Aahh... »

And we started again... for about 5 minutes, before staying just blank. He took one more bite of his toast with marmelade before saying with his mouth, still full : « What... f'bout seein' f'him ? I remem'fber I gotta see f'him anyway... »

I acquiesced, after making sure I wouldn't be much of a bother for any of them.

Well... he told me to join him in the park about 4PM. I guess I've got quite plenty of time ahead. Enough I guess to prepare the dinner and to play Call of Duty right after.

Here my sandwiches were ready ! I knew that would be a piece of delight for tonight... Guess I'll just shut the door behind, with the console still on as anyway we'll have another online « party » time later in there.

Here we are (errr, were, fine...) in there now. I perceived two silhouettes approaching me. Those were probably Théo and... the mountain guy next to him.

Théo greeted me back first.

« Hey, well, uh... so here he is... Beño , hahaha. And Beño, here is Anthy. »

Beño was a plump black haired man, about 1.75m with a pretty dark skin. He smiled at me.

« Hey, uh... hola. Soy very happy to meet you. Si ! »

I smiled back.

« Nice to meet you too ! »

We walked together, while chatting more or less about our (very fascinating) past days: apparently Théo had met some girl that he found pretty cute, and Beño went to the casino for the first time in his life, but quickly figured he was wasting money more than anything else (although he admitted the games were pretty fun).

« So uh, Théo said, you told me earlier about the mountain... how have you been feeling since so ? »

I didn't expect him to go so fast to the subject, but hey... I gazed at Beño's expression to see his reaction.

« Aah, la montaña ! Ehhh... si, la mountain, it's like... I went... you know underground ! I saw something like monsters ! Si ! And ehhh... it was very peculiar. »

« Was it scary ? » that I asked myself, as I felt pretty curious about the conversation...

While at the same time I recognized this might be a product of his imagination, I still found it strangely interesting to know a bit more about his all world, and what leaded him to say such things...

« Anthy, ehh... Well. Si, it was creepy. But they don't seem all... very nice down there. Ehhh... well, but one showed me the way out... I could show you if you want ! »

Even more curious, showing me ? I defied his logic.

« Really ? Of course ! Show me this ! Where is it ? Which mountain ?»

« I dunno... ehhh, apparently before there was no way out... something about a barrier that got broken and all, but now there are several... and several mountains that have access to the place... I guess underground is very big ! Si ! But I can show you one way! »

Is it far ? Oh well... anyway, give it a try. It's like now 6PM... still seems like the night is coming early. I was about to suggest that we do it tomorrow, but...

« Here it is », Beño said.

Théo made a very « What now ? » kind of look toward me. I shrugged.

« Uhh, I responded while staring down at the cliff, how to get down there ? I'm not sure it is very clever eventually... maybe we should go back to my car, and...»

« Come here », he continued.

He found a sort of hidden cave, in which I and my best friend followed after him. I'm not sure how to describe what I was seeing already... if not all these gleaming sorts of blue mushrooms that were surrounding us all along the way... What the... No, if any word, that was fascinating. My Call of Duty party kinda quitted my mind for a few... well, not for long, but for a few anyway. (Well, yeah... I mean... look at this shit around here, you'll understand).

The cave was going down... it was _what seemed like an endless_ slope actually... In fact, I wish there was an elevator after awhile. Damn it, technology forgot us already ?!

« Who gave you the way out ? A monster too ?», I asked, kinda breathless.

« Si, a monster. », Beño answered merely.

Once we (finally!) got sure we were down about maybe 30 or 1 hour later, I figured our montaña guy took his phone and called someone... (uh, wait) like there is some connection in here ? (Forget my last comment about technology then)

He told us to stay here. I wasn't sure, really... I looked at Théo, then whispered to him : _« Where did you meet that guy... ? »_

Théo stared at me confusingly. _« Uuuh... well... uhh... he caused me a (minor) car accident... so... he still has to pay for the damages, and meanwhile we happened to become friends, and... »_

We heard steps coming closer. I was sure this whole fiasco wasn't very clever... I should have stayed home, or even just in this park instead of being too curious. I EVEN happened to involve Théo in this, or maybe he actually did, or maybe...

« Hola ! Amiga ! Hey ! », Beño shouted.

I and my friend looked at the direction toward which the montaña guy was waving his hand.

« Is that a joke... ? » I asked.

« I don't think... so... uh... » Théo responded.

A very tall silhouette approached us in a very calm way. I kinda jumped at the sight of it, but didn't believe any of it ! Looked like a sort of anthropomorphic tall individual in a long dress... something like a goat or I dunno... someone probably cosplaying, eh ?

« Hello, my child, a peacefully lady like voice from this strange cosplaying anthro thing answered, I am sorry for the time I have spent to come... I, uh, was cooking, and I had to take my cake out from the oven. But I heard your call. Are these your friends ? »

« Si ! They are ! My amigos ! Théo and... Anthy !» he replied, very normally as it seems.

« I see. Welcome Underground... My name is Toriel, let me introduce you to this world that has been co-existing for so long, under your home. Oh, dear lord! You must be so confused right now ! »

I have to admit that was kinda intimidating, but we followed her anyway. Beño didn't seem very surprised by any of it, and talked to her very naturally.

« I am so cheerful to see you back here, my friend. », she told him.

While we were walking after her, she explained us how there used to be apparently a fight between humans and monsters centuries ago, and how after an epic win, humans sealed monsters underground... Recently enough, someone apparently happened to break the barrier that separated the world of the surface from underground, but since so... monsters have decided for everyone's sake to stay in there. The few individuals that went to the surface have never been very well welcomed (scaring humans away), and at the same time humans have happened to be hated underground. That's why it wasn't very safe to just walk alone in here apparently.

I wasn't sure whether all this story was true, if there was really an anthropomorphic goat that was talking to us, or anything... so I just happened to follow the unknown, without expecting anything anymore from the following events. Théo stayed quiet as well. And I could figure why. I tried more or less to analyze the physique of the lady to finally decide whether that was or not a cosplay costume.

It seemed like the furry skin on her face was in fact... so stuck to the face that it wouldn't be very likely to be a mask. Her jaw was also moving all along her speech... Damn, if that was a mask, that would get to be a very (hell, yeah, very!) realistic one.

We ended up in front of a very huge (damn, why so huge?) door. She opened it, and explained her that was the « Ruins », and that she did some renovations in there since so.

« My dear friends, feel at home. You must be hungry after such a journey ? »

I looked at my phone to realize it was... UUGH ! Nearly 8PM ! MY SANDWICHES ! MY CALL OF DUTY PARTY ! Where the... ok, ok. Calm down.

She invited us to take a seat in front of a table, on which we sat down. She had prepared all a meal... well, Beño just served himself and started eating. He thanked her for it and told her it was delicious. She thanked him for his compliment, with a huge smile that showed all the... love (?) she put through it. I and Théo followed then, admitting she cooked quite well eventually.

This is after the dinner that she showed us all this home in which she lived alone... which I found quite strange, for a single lady.

« Oh ! How silly I am ! I am sure you must be tired ! Well, follow me... »

She wasn't that wrong, the lady. I start getting tired...

She leaded us to osme huge room in which there were a few beds... yeah, dunno if that was part of her renovations...

I looked around, kinda suspiciously. All went so fast... that I wasn't sure myself if continuing was clever. Still, Beño seemed to behave completely at ease ! Toriel left. I sat down on one of the beds, then looked at the two guys left in here.

« For how long have you been knowing each other ? You two... »

« Nearly 3 months, I think », Théo replied. Beño just nodded.

« Ok. »

Later, they just both fell asleep. Despite my fatigue, I didn't manage to trust any of it. I was too confused... and my logic was no more really there. If I fell like I had one friend who was joining me in my confusion earlier, he was just now shutting his eyes, somewhere else in his dreams. I decided to walk alone, till the livingroom.

Oh, here was the goat now who was sitting on a couch, reading.

« Hello my child. Aren't you tired at this time ? »

« Not really... », I lied.

« Oh, I see... hmm... if you want there are a few books here that I would love to share ! »

« No... thank you. »

She stayed quiet for a second, before approaching me, and laying a hand on my shoulder.

« Are you ok, my child ? I mean... oh, she shut her eyes before keeping on in her words, I have noticed you looked quite worried since you came here. »

I didn't know what to respond... and I didn't anyway.

She kept on.

« I understand. This is probably not very usual for a human to end up here, and it's true it can seem pretty... strange ? But worry not, I am not this kind who would do you any harm. »

I looked down, and I still didn't find any word to say. I felt kinda anxious... No, NOTHING WAS ALRIGHT ! NO ! I wanted to GO HOME ! I WANTED TO PLAY CALL OF ! AND I'M FEELING LIKE MY SANITY IS BREAKING DOWN !

She faced me now, and opened her arms, that she soon ended up wrapping me with.

« Everything will be ok, my child. I am here if you need me. », that she said with tenderness...

If it did not smell like... goat, the scent made me strangely feel secure, like a protective aura. There was something comforting in it. She seemed to represent a quite motherly, but yet imposing figure... I let her embrace me, then, for a few minutes... She rubbed my head. I looked up.

« If anything is troubling your mind, I can listen. », she addressed me a confident smile.

« I... I want to go back home. »

She shut her eyes.

« Alright then. Tomorrow you will be back at your home as you wish. »

I thanked her for her attempt to comfort me. She left me her phone number in case I would « need anything ». I turned back, and walked away.

« I'm going for a walk », I said.

Not awhile after, she immediately responded : « Hmm... be careful, my dear. Don't walk too far... if you remember what I said earlier about... »

« I know. Well...thank you. »

I joined the door toward the exit. This last one left a creaky noise behind me. Snowflakes already added themselves to the setting of my way. I looked at my phone, and checked my messages... Nothing.

Well, a good walk, and what not... at least maybe to put my mind aside, and to give some more order to my thoughts... till I found something like a post. Err, it looked empty. Oh well, maybe used to be some place to sell whatsoever...

I started scanning it, but didn't find anything... Really, must be desertic anyway.

 _« Hey, what are you looking for ? »_

… ?! What the...

I looked back, and... **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH !**

I made a step away. What the... ?

« oh wow, i scared ya, haven't i ? »

I made a one more step away, my eyes were probably open wide (and perhaps as much as my mouth...)

« my name is sans... yeah, sans the skeleton. what aboutcha ? »

Ah.. aah... a skeleton. Aaah hahahaha... ok... My brain quickly tried to analyze what it was looking at: a small guy, with wide black eyes and something like a... little light in it, maybe pupils. He had a big head, that strangely didn't exactly look like one of a regular skeleton of whatever kind of species. He was wearing a blue coat, loose black pants, and... was that flip-flops or...

He removed one of his hands from his pocket and moved it forward, waiting for my reaction. Ok... I approached, and shaked his (warm, really?) hand, after hesitating.

« My... I... my name is... uh, Anthy. » that I tried to say, as well as I could (and I bet I failed at this one).

« nice to meet ya. i bet you already met the lady who lives in there.»

He knew her ?

« you seemed quite curious to see that post, weren't ya ? well, i'm a sentry in here. i'm just... checking around here. that leaves me quite a ton of work, eh ? a... skele-TON. »

« Ah. »

« aren't my puns cool ? »

I didn't care...

« and i don't care you don't care actually», he suddenly said.

Wait... what ?! How did he gue...

« what ? that surprised ya, right? »

He made this strange grin that kinda intimidated me... Could he even shut his mouth in fact ? These wide eyes stared at my like they were entering the doors of my intimate persona. If not that, it was almost like he could see through my clothing (which I doubted frankly, thankfully).

« i bet ya curious. it's cold in here, right ? », he asked out of nowhere.

I was not really feeling cold...

« hey, pal. don't be scared i don't care about catching humans, and all that business... i won't hurt ya. take it easy... »

I tried to smile, although this situation wasn't very « easy » to take as such.

Despite his shortness, he surely had something quite intimidating, that's for sure. If my sanity was already flirting with the subzero... now I could tell it was clearly SUBzero, like -1000...

« Do you often see humans passing by here ? » that I randomly threw, anyway.

« no. actually not many fall underground... or even pay a visit, i shall say, that he did before looking aside and gazing back at me then, ya don't know how many monsters would have nosebled if they ever saw ya, heh. »

Heh. Yeah, heh. That's so reassuring... but I could guess with what Toriel told me earlier.

« … but like i didn't BONEbleed anyway! », he added.

I smirked briefly :

« Because you are a... SKELETON. Heh !»

« remark that i can bleed in fact... »

Uh, what ? Ok then. Sorry. He must be a very... SPECIAL skeleton then, right ?

«i was sure it would catch your curiosity at some point. »

He winked. To be honest, I wasn't sure anymore about what was possible or not...

After that he asked me how I ended up here, I merely explained him that whole fiasco with those friends...

« i see... i don't think i've seen any human called 'beño' before, i guess i just didn't perceive him when he was around then. »

Perhaps.

« wow, i bet it's quite late now. »

He walked a bit away, when I saw him fall... I raised an eyebrow, then approached him in a hurry.

« Hey, you ok ? », I asked.

« ...i...i think i'm gonna sleep on the snow in fact... »

I grabbed his hand, and helped him to stand back.

« hey, thank you, pal. anthy, that's it ? »

I smiled at him.

« Yeah, I guess it's late and I'm getting kinda tired as well... I'm gonna, err well... go to sleep I guess, ok ? It was nice to... meet you», I said.

« hey you too, pal. was fun i guess... see you tomorrow. »

See... you.

I was about to walk away toward Toriel's, when I just looked back behind. But he had completely disappeared. So fast ? Kinda like a ghost... I shivered a bit.

When I went back to the ruins, I carefully shut the doors behind me. Everything was so dark inside, the lights were off (I needed to use my phone's light to see around here). I guess mom goat went to sleep in the meantime...

I tried to discretely put myself under the beddings (that were very comfortable, I have to admit!) without awaking anyone in the room, before checking once again my messages. Some friend of mine asked me if I was up for a party. I guess I will text back tomorrow...

I stared blankly at the dark ceiling...

A living skeleton ? …

He had obviously some features that looked like a skeleton, but... I was surely surprised as well about what he said. He can bleed ? Well, I mean... if an anthropomorphic goat can exist, maybe an anthropomorphic skeleton as well...

I still tended to question how physically that must work... I just remembered his face. Well, that was surely not a regular human's skeleton. The skull was closed, and there was no hole under his jaw... that sort of light that represented his pupil as well... He was fully clothed after all, and I could not tell more about my observations. Although it left me kinda perplexed...

If his skull wasn't full of holes like a regular skeleton, maybe his pelvis was also a closed structure... do beings of his kind have genitals or... a butthole in fact ?

…

Wait, what ? Ah, my thoughts are going too far. Why do I even wonder...

May tomorrow be another day, and may I open my eyes newly on my normal bed.

All of this is probably just a strange dream. Théo would probably find that funny if I ever remember to tell him all of what happened in this one.

Still, it's true at « this one » I wondered quite a bunch, because the idea of monsters co-existing not _that far from us_ remains fairly interesting... because living skeletons are, in fact, quite fascinating.

 _(Good night)_

* * *

 **Samiful note : Woah, I guess I'm not very familiar with writing fanfictions in general ! But I just wanted to try, to initiate myself more in the world of Undertale.**

 **To be fair, I have not even finished the pacifist run of the game (I also did the neutral route until Asgore, but as I didn't have the heart to kill him, I resetted. Yeah... lame) so I guess it's quite strange to give it a shot, and all that, but you know...**

 **I also wanted to share through this fiction this curiosity toward the concept of « living skeletons », that have always left me perplexed (they don't have that because they are skeletons, can't do that... blabla), hahaha...**

 **I note how fandom has taken this habit to represent Sans' and Papyrus' tongue as respectively blue and orange. It's interesting how there is a whole movement over it... but I'm not taking any specific party. It still remains quite an interesting concept.**

 **Many writers have surely a good talent in writing, and in depicting this whole universe that comes originally from a game released recently ! (And tbh, I recognize Undertale isn't only limited to the game itself, but also to what fans do out of it and the characters... they ARE ALSO the ones who make it live by their own productions, their imagination ! Some fanworks are awesome).**

 **Also, I confess I'm not very familiar with the world of Call of Duty, but why not at least having a protagonist who loves this kind of game ?**

 **The name "Anthy" just came randomly after I thought "Anthony" for some reason. (shrugs)**

 **Did you know "Sans" meant "without" in French? Heh, kinda difficult, as I've got to see this word everywhere... to finally think about him everytime (well, maybe not, as it's part of my mother tongue and the word comes naturally, but still... if I focus just a little bit... ah, this innocence, once upon a time... ~)**

 **As for the later chapters I'm not sure yet, but perhaps if I ever feel like doing so... Anyway, I've got a few ideas already. x)  
**

 **Still, hope you liked it! (And if you did not... well, it's ok. There is a ton of stories from other authors that you might find _perhaps_ amazing! ~ And... if you already hate me for this one, I guess you might hate me even more for the possible following. /o/)  
**

 _ **But please, don't lapidate me.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Samiful note : Oh! What a nice gun! Uh, oh, wait... is that my head you are aiming at... ? **

* * *

My eyes were still heavy from the last night. It took me about one or two minutes to look at the surroundings and to realize that... err, naaaaaw...

This was exactly the same room I fell asleep in. I noticed all the beds around here were empty, although two of them were all messy. I yawned before finally standing up, and scanning the places again... I went to the livingroom.

« Oh, my child. Here you are now. Did you sleep well ? », the goat mom said with the same friendly smile she had yesterday.

So, basically... all of this was real ? Or was I just still dreaming ?

Théo, and... what was his name already ? Ah yeah, Beño, greeted me by the way. They were all sitting around the table taking their breakfast.

« Oh, come and take a seat. Worry not about serving yourself as you like », she said.

It was about 8AM. Not much of a surprise as I usually get up early... although this time it seems like I was not the first. I quickly realized I had never known about Théo's morning habits.

I smiled politely at Toriel and thanked her once again for her welcome... I thought all of this was just temporary, and that anyway, according to my memories, the anthropomorphic goat told me today we would be back home. Aaaah.. Call of Duty was waiting, and my sandwiches as well ! Don't ask, they're gonna be my wonderful reward for the journey ! Hahahaha... hell, yeah. Now I'm looking forward to this moment...

« What about paying a little visit around ? », Théo said suddenly.

Ohh no... no... not for too long then...

« Si ! I can make you visit if quieres ! If you want, si ! », Beño answered.

I sighed.

« Yeah... I guess we can do that... but hey, be careful with the monsters that...», I tried to say before that mom goat cut me off.

« Worry not, I would accompany you with pleasure. I am sure it would be very healthy for all of you to have a little walk. And you probably are quite curious... »

Ok, for this one I wasn't sure about thanking her. But at the same time she probably wanted to do things right... I couldn't blame her. So here we went...

I saw us approaching the area where the cave from which we came was, but... NAAAAAAW ! Here we were now going away from it to go elsewhere.

Toriel stopped.

« Here, in this way, is the village of Snowdin. »

Snowdin ? Err...

« Hey, let's go take a look in there ! », Théo yelled excitingly.

Damn, if I knew he'd end up finding that fun, and that I'd reversely be the one to want to go back home... As for Beño, he just followed without saying much I bet he had already seen quite a bunch...

We encountered a few monsters on the way, who greeted Toriel. She explained them we were friends of hers, but this little detail didn't seem to stop some from staring at us weirdly. I wonder what would have happened if we were just walking alone here without her presence eventually... would they have jumped on us like lost preys in a wild environment ?

Anyway, it still didn't seem to bother her more than that, and she just invited us to go check her favorite library. Cool, I guess... Well, as strange as it seems, actually they just kinda look the same as the ones we have as humans. Ah... probably witnessing some possible connections there might have been at some point between civilizations, or whatever... In fact, if anything, I was about to say that if we could neglect a few details here and there, the major difference between the surface and underground was just the individuals. I think Toriel told us previously something about magic, but...

Well, after she picked some books, here we were now leaving the village. It was kinda embarrassing to ask... and yet, I had to do it...

« Where is the cave to go back to the surface, already... ? » (I knew the answer, but a reminder was needed somehow, right ?)

The goat stared at me for a moment.

« So, you really want to go back home ? Well... I see. Hmm... follow me. »

We followed her, and yet, I wasn't sure about the two other guys' point of view. Théo didn't say anything, and neither did Beño...

« Oh. I... I'm sorry. », Toriel said.

« Wait, what are we going to do now?! », I retorted.

The cave was blocked by huge rocks that somehow ended up there. What the fuck happened?! Is that even a DAMN joke ?!

« Is there any other way to take ? », Théo asked. (Ah?)

« Well. Unfortunately I am not really sure about the other accesses to the surface, except if you go through the King's castle, which might require some time ahead... The good news is that, actually, as landslides happen sometimes, the rocks will probably be moved out of the way tomorrow », she answered.

« Podemos, ehhh... we can wait, si ! », Beño suddenly said.

Hmmm...

« My children, you can stay here as long as you want. Actually, I plan to make a pie. Perhaps, you would like me to teach you some cooking lessons? », the tall goat proposed.

« That sounds great ! », Théo responded.

And here we were going back to the ruins... once again.

They all gathered to the kitchen, while Toriel was preparing the ingredients that she layed on the table. I did not stay for long... and told them that I would go back for a walk.

« Again ? », started Théo.

Yeah, again...

I wanted to see whether there was a hidden hole from which we could just pass the cave among all these silly rocks... damn, how can a landslide even happen so randomly ?!

I tried to scan more or less this huge heap... but I had to recognize it was quite intimidating. What if I accidentally turned out to make one rock fall, and to have a few others that ended up crushing me, then ? It looked like a quite dangerous plan. I looked at the heap with defeat. So, here we are... I'll have to wait tomorrow, right ? Anyway, I just can't go to that « King's castle », leaving the others behind, and without even telling them. It would be so...

 _« Hiya ! I knew I would see you again around here. »_

… ?!

Aaaah ! Here is the skeleton who, once again, happened to just surprise me behind my back.

« Hi, uh. Sans... that's it ? »

« cool. so you didn't forget my name, buddy. »

« Yeah... seems like it. »

« quite a good day, right ? »

I sighed. What could I tell him anyway ? The _good day_ would be in front of my Call of, and with my lunch... my sandwiches, that's it.

« i bet you're hungry. ain't ya ? », he randomly said, « come with me, i'll show ya some place i like ».

So, you guess how things went... I just followed him (well, at this point, I was no more really evaluating whether my decision was being dangerous or not... and yeah, still, who was this guy?)

« huff... puff... that was a skele-TON of walk... », he just said.

« Yeah... »

That really tired him at this point ?

« you still not like my puns, right ? »

Nah...

« yet... so humerus ! »

I didn't understand that one.

We were back in Snowdin now.

« here we are. »

I think I already saw this place when we passed by with Toriel... but from outside.

Sans opened the door, and welcomed me inside I thanked him. It looked like a bar, in fact. With a very warm... (hell yeah, literally « warm », because believe me or not, there was a huge difference between the temperature outside and inside) atmosphere, I shall say. A few monsters were sitting here and there and greeted « Sansy » he invited me to take a seat next to him. The barman was a sort of man with fire everywhere on his body that he dressed with a gentleman like suit. Those glasses that he was wearing gave him a kind of smart look. He welcomed us, as well.

« so tell me, bud. what do you wanna eat? », Sans asked.

Uuuh... like, he is really thinking about paying me a meal, or... (I looked at the options)

« Fries ? », that I picked randomly... just to test his reaction in fact.

His reaction ? Well, he just commanded my « fries » to the barman in front of us. I gazed at him now.

« Are you serious ? » that I did.

« why not ? i'm not allowed to offer something to a friend of mine ? »

A friend ?

« … look. i know what you must think. it's like we only met yesterday and you probably want to go back home, right ? »

Right, the Sansy. Yeah, that's it.

« ...still, i mean, don't ya think it can be cool to... discover new places and meet new friends ? »

It's better to play Call of D.

« … i see », he shut his eyes after taking a break in his words, « i remember going to the surface several times, but i ended up scaring humans away... it's hard to accept and trust the unusual, eh ? »

The fire bareman just layed a plate of fries in front of me, then went back to his business... Sans took a bottle of ketchup, before opening it and... what the fuck is he doing ? (He put some on his mouth, before licking the rest of ketchup that was spread all over his teeth)

« to be honest... i wish i could befriend a human... i once did in the past, but that was a kid. you see the deal... »

He kept licking the ketchup that was spilled all over his fingers now...

« sorry, i like this. you don't know how much... heh, eat your fries or they'll be cold... »

Yeah. Why not taking a bite after all ? (Not like now they were in front of me, after being commanded anyway)

… And, to be fair, that wasn't bad. Not bad at all. Actually the same as the ones we usually eat.

« well... i don't want to bother ya with all my speech about humans... if you wanna go back home, i understand anyway. i won't force ya to stay, you know ? »

He tapped my back after leaving some money on the counter, « thank you, grillby ». He stood up from his chair, hands in his pockets. He was about to walk away, when...

« Sans... wait. »

He stopped, his back still facing me.

« I... well, I recognize I haven't been very... forward, I guess. And, actually, I... I wouldn't mind if we got to know each other better... », I threw toward his attention.

« ...really ? »

« Yeah. »

He turned back toward me. His huge black sockets stared at me for a moment.

« alright, then... »

This is about less than five minutes later that he took me in front of a big wooden house, with two mailboxes next to it. One was messily filled by letters that seemed to have never been opened. I quickly figured it was his house...

« make yourself home. »

The hall was probably already the livingroom... it looked kinda empty though.

« upstairs you have my bedroom, and my bro's », he explained.

Well, but besides that...

« Where is the bathroom ? », I asked.

If anything, I was particularly surprised by the exterior sight of the house that wouldn't even have made me guess how empty it truly was.

« Aaaah haha... I guess you don't need a bathroom, right ? », I continued.

Well, that was a skeleton after all.

He stared at me once again with that wide grin, for a time that nearly felt like forever, when...

« follow me. »

Oh. Oh, alright... that was this kind of very discrete door you wouldn't even have noticed... but why hiding it anyway ?

« ...because i like surprising people », he said with a wink.

I entered the room, sat down on the toilet and started thinking.

In fact, it kinda reminded me of Toriel's house, where you wouldn't have found this _room_ without asking first.

I left the bathroom, and went back to the livingroom.

« you took awhile, heh. »

I didn't have anything to respond.

« hey, take it easy, i was teasing ya. i sometimes happen to fall asleep in there, until that i hear... »

«SANS», a raucous voice shouted.

« ...and here he is now. »

I heard a song behind... and steps getting closer.

« WHO ARE YOU TAL... OOOH ! »

Uh, oh ? Oh... and here was now the owner of this voice who was standing right here, staring at me. That one looked like a taller skeleton , maybe a more average like skeleton, or... err, no, his eyesockets kinda looked like two slits, with something like strange eyebrows that were giving him a weird expression on his face. His skull was more rectangular than Sans's (who's which was actually more round shaped), and he was wearing some weird clothes... more notably a red scarf, that white sort of armor shaped like sweater, long red boots, and... blue briefs (?) on top of dark tights. If his briefs were exactly tracing the form of his pelvis, than it would be like there is more matter than...

« IS THIS A HUMAN ? SANS ! »

« no, this is a doll that is speaking. »

« DON'T KID ME ! I KNOW WHAT A HUMAN LOOKS LIKE NOW !»

It was hard to say how not only his voice, but also his imposing figure kinda intimidated me...

« Uh, hi. I'm Anthy... », I tried to say...

« HI, HUMAN. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM VERY CHEERFUL TO MEET YOU. »

Ah... ah ? The Great ? Hahaha, ok then... he sounded very... uh, self-confident, eh ?

« Ah, Papyrus, that's it ? Sounds good. »

« I. PAPYRUS. THE ONLY ONE. THE GREATEST OF THE GREATEST. IN THE BONES ! THE ONE THAT WILL MAKE YOU SPAGHETTIS EVERYDAY IF YOU LIKE, HUMAN ! »

Indeed, if I had to talk about a first impression, I would say... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhh... yeah. Pretentious. But I tried to put that one judgment aside.

« Spaghettis ? Cool. Well, I'm not hungry now, but maybe later... »

« … FINE. FEEL FREE TO KNOCK ON MY DOOR ANYTIME. I'M GOING BACK TO MY ROOM NOW. MY POPULARITY ON THE INTERNET IS WAITING FOR ME. NYEH HEHEHEHE !»

He went upstairs, where the song came from before shouting one last time :

« BONETROUSLE ! ~ », then shut his door.

Here I was left lonely once again with Sans.

« he's cool my bro, right ? »

« Well... »

« don't worry, he's very extroverted but not dangerous. just _kinda_ fascinated by your kind.»

« I see, indeed... He looks very... robust ? Strange clothes too, heh.»

« you were looking a bit low in there, eh ? », he winked.

Uuuuh...

« So he's famous on the Internet, right? », I asked.

« yeah... on undernet, and on other social networks. actually, recently some guy made a game in which we happen to appear. that's quite surprising... i mean, if it was not because he visited us in the underground, i wonder how he could have guessed about our existence, and about how that works more or less over here... yeah, i'm quite famous on the net too, in fact. »

A game ? As if inspiration was just the result of a sort of message that flew in the air between two worlds...

/

I paid a visit to Sans's bedroom, which he offered me to enter. Well, and to be honest... I... I mean... WHAT WAS THIS MESS ?! HE NEVER CLEANED HIS ROOM ?! I at least happen to tidy up mine EVERYDAY.

I glanced at him to receive an answer out of this...

« yeah, i know... welcome to my place, hehehe... »

« Ha...ha...ha... you're that lazy, huh ? »

« what ? yeah, i won't lie to ya, right ? »

Frankly, I wasn't feeling very well... messy rooms make me sick for some reason. Like a slight feel of disgust running down my throat... I wasn't sure whether I could stand that for long. He sat down on his bed (that he had obviously not even bothered to make), while inviting me to take a seat on a random chair that was being there anyway.

Ok, Anthy... focus on something else, not on his room... just on something else... ok ?

« you ok ? », he asked.

« Uh, eh... yeah, yeah... », that I attempted to say while my feet were desperately trying to dodge the crisp crumbs on the floor...

« you prefer to sit on the bed ? », that he said with his confused wide blinking eyesockets.

« Naah... nah, I'm good on the chair, really, hahaha... »

In fact, the bed would have been probably worse.

This is for about 30 minutes that we chatted about things here and there, and his relationship with his brother.

« So, you tell him bedtime stories, huh ? », I questioned.

« yeah... you know, i've been used to take care of him since we were kids. i fed him, i played with him, made him do snowmen, taught him to read, oh... ya know... this is one hell of a boy full of energy, that papyrus... »

I smiled.

« it has been awhile now he has been learning cooking lessons. he's kinda obsessed on spaghettis, so don't be too much surprised with this... », he added.

Ah, I guess that makes sense.

« You really seem to love your bro'», I commented.

« yeah, you don't know how much... sometimes more than i would have wanted... »

I raised an eyebrow. More than... ?! Uh, eh, hehehehe... That is...

« ...uh, well. forget about this », he finished.

He looked aside. I think I saw him blush for a moment, which kind of distracted me from the mess that was surrounding us.

I wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but... I dared to lay a hand on his shoulder. He made a surprise look toward me, still blushing around. I could feel his breath on my hand, now... it was kind of a strange physical contact, if anything.

« It's ok », I said.

I kind of wanted to rub the top of his skull, but I estimated it was maybe not very appropriate. Still, it didn't prevent him from responding with a quite shy tone :

« ...you are... sweet, he...he...he... »

And I felt like I had broken some defenses of the very confident Sansy that I had earlier ! But still, it gave him a quite lovely look in fact...

« We are friends, right ? », I replied.

« yeah, friends, eh... »

It was now getting late, I think. And I had to join back the others. We stood up, then left the mess of his bedroom to go back to the livingroom...

« if ya want... you could... come back tomorrow ? », the short skeleton asked.

« Yeah, I... I... will », I replied.

And here I was on my way back to Toriel's for dinner time...

* * *

 **Samiful note 2 : WAKING UP EARLY ?! CLEANING A ROOM EVERYDAY ?! MAKING BED ?! What is this ?! Hahaha, nah... just kidding. But still, I bet if the protagonist had known me personally, they would have lost their sanity as well.;)**

 **To be fair, it's kinda odd to try to imagine what an already existent fictional character would have said in certain situations, but at the same time, that's just fun... that's... inspiration, you know ? Just adding your flavor to the cup of tea that's already laying there. Kind of, I mean...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Samiful note** **: Three days to write this chapter... wasn't sure whether it was from laziness during my freetime or... yeah, no, got distracted by the music on my phone, really.**

* * *

Toriel came toward the table with a wonderful pie.

« Cinnamon pie. Made with the help of my dear Théo and Beño. Congratulations ! You have done an excellent work, my children. »

My eyes already anticipated how tasty that one would be; the look was cruelly appealing, and yet it was not like I had not already consumed the dinner after filling my plate like an ogre. They surely did a good job !

The two guys and Toriel stared at me with brillant eyes, probably looking foward to seeing my reaction. And... well, even though it was just expected, it still surprised me how...

« This is really delicious ! », I commented.

They all made a huge proud smile that showed me pratically all the heart they might have given through the task. Théo kept the recipe he wanted absolutely to retry it at home, as soon as tomorrow.

During this treat, I explained that I revisited Snowdin, and a few places in there. Everything was alright. From the landscapes on my way... to the proper « visit » of the town. They didn't question much, and thankfully... because I wasn't feeling like giving any further detail.

/

/

It was the morning, that is two days after visiting underground. Birds were singing, flowers (may not be yet) blooming...

« So, finally you will be back at your home », Toriel said.

« Finally ! », Théo replied.

« Si ! », Beño did.

There was nothing to say.

Théo looked at me with something that seemed to draw confusion on his face...

« Are you alright, Anthy ? », he asked.

There was like a rock that formed itself in my stomach, and a knot in my throat. Still, I nodded. There was no reason to feel bad now. Call of D. ! Call of D. ! Sandwiches !

I tried to repeat myself these two elements in my head, several times all along the way toward the cave that would eventually sign the end of this journey. Toriel seemed to throw a few discrete glances at me she looked a bit preoccupied about something.

I didn't look back though I pretended to just not have noticed anything.

And here we were now, in front of the cave. There was no more stone blocking the way. Mom goat was right yesterday.

« Well », she said, « I have been very cheerful to meet you, my friends. I guess this is, now, the time to say good bye... »

She made once again this usual benevolent smile of hers.

« … And yet, if you ever want to come back for any reason that is, I will always welcome you. You know you can call me if you need me as well », she added.

She embraced Beño, then Théo who both responded with a polite « Good bye ». And then, she faced me, opening her arms like well, _I-guess-you're-the-last-one-who-is-left_... I approached hesitantly, but accepted it after all. And here I was now having this same comforting feel, this same confident smell that wrapped me like angel wings the first evening I met her. Wasn't it strange finally to have a lady who already happened to take care of you like her own child while you only met her a few hours ago ? And yet, yet... it felt like I had known her forever. Like this simple hug was something that had its place between us two, like a sort of trust that came naturally, out of nowhere... or out of somewhere unknown, in fact. Her arms started abandoning me, my body was now left unprotected. And yet, it was the present time now... and yet I could just make one last step to change everything out of this moment... but this is going to be alright. It was only 2 days spent in here not much of a big deal, eh ? I'll be back to my normal life, and my simple pleasures... and yet keep this as a single isolated memory of a whole lifetime. Or I could just come back later... but something didn't feel right. She stared at me.

I had to say it now...

« G...good... well, good bye, Toriel ».

Théo and Beño approached the hall of the cave, looking at me like _now-you're-done-with-it-we're-waiting-for-ya_. But strangely, my legs didn't move, my body felt paralyzed. Paralyzed like two strings that were pushing me toward two opposite sides simultaneously. The time had stopped for a moment, I think...

« W... wait », I said unexpectedly. Toriel raised an eyebrow Théo and Beño also looked kinda surprised.

« … I... I think I've got something left to do in here », I randomly tried to say, catching any word on my way that could at least justify it.

« What is it ? », Toriel asked.

« I... I just wanna visit some place for the last time », I said, « what about leaving tonight instead ? »

« We can still come back later in here, Anthy. But, uh... oh, fine. You're the one who's got the car anyway », Théo replied.

He got one point here : without me leaving, they had to stay here. I felt guilty...

« Don't worry. I'm ok with visiting some more. Plus it's a fun place around, right ? But, hahaha... I confess it's weird to not change my clothes after several days... », he added.

So, they were ok with me staying for the day ? Seems like it. I would have taken them to this bar where Sans took me, and I would have even made them meet him in fact... but for some reason I felt like I needed to spend some time with him alone. Maybe another time... Toriel proposed them another recipe to learn together meanwhile. Théo was ok with it Beño, I wasn't sure...

I went back to my way toward Snowdin when I... oh ? Here he was now, behind the post near which I met him for the first time ! When I came closer, I figured he was sleeping... a bit of saliva flowed on the corner of his mouth.

« Heyuh ! », I said a bit loud.

« !... ?! uh ?! eh... uh... », that Sans did while opening hardly his eyes out of surprise and wiping off the bit of drool with his right hand. He yawned.

« oh uh... hi, anthy... », he said, after realizing my presence.

« What's up, Sansy ? », I said.

« i'm having a ton of work... a skele... »

« -TON. Yeah, I know that one. Really looks like some tiring business, right ? », I teased him.

« hey, i didn't expect ya to come around like this... you got me this time. »

« I know ! But look, man. Tonight I'm going back to the surface, so... »

« oh, really... ?»

(Yes).

He stayed silent for some long 10 seconds, while his eyes were blinking at me.

« ya wanna hang out then ? », he asked.

What, now ?

« Don't you have a ton of business ahead ? »

« we can put this aside... », he just answered.

So that's it. We went back to «Grillby's » (that was the name of this bar eventually?), where this time there was nearly nobody around. We took a seat in front of one of the few tables there were. He took once again his dose of ketchup. And to change from last time, I took a burger. He stared at my lips... I didn't get it.

« What's up ? », I asked.

This strange gaze seemed to reveal something that caught his attention, and seized him like a bewitching entity that took his mind away. Was he distracted... ?

« Hey, Sans », I called again.

« oh uh... sorry. heh, i think you've got some sauce around your mouth... »

Oh ! I took a napkin and wiped that off. I didn't want to look awkward after all.

We happened to chat friendly in the bar : he wanted to show me some other places in here, but obviously we wouldn't have the time today. So, we agreed for some next time if I ever happened to come back... He asked me if the lady who welcomed me treated me well. I couldn't lie : she was both a very motherly and friendly figure. Very available, and willing to help !

« Do you know her ? », I asked.

« well... yeah. i met her awhile ago actually... »

I didn't say anything, waiting for the following of his story. But he remained silent, perhaps was it a way to ask for my permission...

« Well, tell me about it », I added.

« actually... i already told ya what's my job, right ? »

« Yeah... »

« and to be honest, that's kinda boring... like... »

(I could tell, that was _boring_ for you earlier...)

« i used to have to wait for humans to capture them... but ya know, we no more need human souls to break the barrier, so... now i'm just checking around in case something bad happens...and stuff, but anyway my story... »

So, he was originally meant to capture my kind ? For their souls ? Did that mean if I had come earlier, he would have kil...

« i found that huge door not far from my post, so i had the idea to come in there and to practice some 'knock knock' joke... you see the deal ? »

« Ugh, yes... », I answered.

« that's what i did someday. i knocked and said 'knock knock'... a lady voice answered 'who is there ?'... so i replied : 'dishes '. 'dishes who ?', so i simply answered : 'dishes a very bad joke' ! and here she was laughing, and laughing... so you know, i continued, till she knocked and said : 'knock knock', 'who's there ?', 'old lady !', 'old lady who ? ', 'oh ! i did not know you could yodel !' you know what, buddo ? i'm telling ya that was probably the best joke interlocutor i had been having after awhile... i eventually found someone who loved my knock knock jokes. then i came back several times, over and over... who knew i would meet someone like this just by looking around outside of my job ? then someday i got to meet her face to face... and now she'll just invite me to pass by... heh... you know what ? in fact i got to tell this story to the previous human who came over here, when the barrier wasn't broken yet... »

« Oh, really ? »

« yeah. we weren't at grillby's when i did, but you know... that was a kid. they just wanted to go back home, i guess... just by looking at their eyes... maybe like you, in fact. but... i guess there is something different with ya for some reason... »

He stopped. I stared at him, without having much to add. Still, I mean... he didn't seem to...

« … heh, you know. actually, that lady... » , he added suddenly, « she made me promise something back at the time... »

Ah ?

« … she made me promise to take care of a human if they ever happened to pass by, and to protect them. heh, in fact, i hate promises, but... coming from her, couldn't say no ».

… And... what would have happened if back at the time he had never met Toriel, and made this promise ? What would have happened to this child ? What would have happened to me today ? Or even back at the time... ? I didn't feel at ease with this idea.

« yeah... i'm not sure myself what i would have made of ya », he just threw now.

I stayed silent. I wasn't sure whether my face had changed of color or of expression but, despite the warmth of the atmosphere, my back shivered a bit. Here I was having this paralyzing feel again...

«... i, i'm sorry », he said, « i didn't mean to scare ya ».

He suggested that we pay another visit to his house then. And to be honest, I wasn't sure anymore... but yet, I still happened to accept, after attempting to suppress my anxiety.

/

I was standing behind him, he opened the door.

When we entered, I heard a very familiar song...

« HI HUMAN, HI SANS. »

… err, right. Damn, Papyrus must really love this song to set it each time.

« Hi », I merely said.

« hey bro' », Sans responded.

« LET'S PLAY A GAME, HUMAN. YOU LIKE PUZZLES ? »

… Puzzles ? What is this shit... Like leggo, or...

« BUT FIRST LET'S GO OUTSIDE ».

Hmmm...

Not far from the town of Snowdin... (like I would have prefered the warmth of their litte home though... but for the sake of my curiosity, and if that can please someone...) I saw a bunch of sorts of slabs set on the floor. Yes, what is this shit... I expected something else... I made a questioning expression toward Sans, expecting an answer out of this, but he said nothing, just a sort of y _ou'll-see_ kind of look. He just kept grinning.

« WELL. LET ME EXPLAIN YOU HOW THAT WORKS. »

« Ok », I responded.

« SEE THESE SLABS ? »

(No, I'm blind...)

« Yes... »

« EACH TIME YOU WILL WALK ON ONE, THE CROSS OVER IT WILL TURN INTO A CIRCLE. BUT IF YOU EVER HAPPEN TO WALK TWICE ON IT, THEN IT'S GONNA TURN INTO A TRIANGLE. YOUR GOAL IS TO HAVE ALL OF THEM TURN INTO A CIRCLE BEFORE SWITCHING THE BUTTON THAT IS STANDING JUST THERE. (He showed me the button) HOWEVER, IF YOU MESS AROUND, JUST SWITCH IT DURING THE PROCESS AND YOU CAN START ALL OVER AGAIN. »

« Oh, ok... Uh, wow... Papyrus... uh, you set all of this ? »

« YES... I DID. IF YOU SUCCEED, I'M GONNA MAKE YOU SOME SPAGHETTIS. NYEH HEH HEH HEH. »

Maybe it would be rude to refuse after all... I already turned his offer down yesterday...

« Well, I... I guess I can try, right ? »

« LOOK AT THIS, SANS. I WAS SURE HUMANS LIKED THIS KIND OF GAME ! »

« welp », Sans simply said.

« HUMAN, ARE YOU READY ? » »

« Yeah, sure... », I concluded.

Whatever he used to make this « puzzle », it would have requested some technology ahead... these slabs in fact looked like they had a screen on them with a gleaming red cross. Yeah, I'm guessing those were some screens... perhaps some tactile screens, wherever he found them to set all this mess. I made a step on one of them, and here the image turned into a green circle ! In the meantime, Papyrus was just staring at me, with his right hand against his hip. Was probably a habit of his to stand like this...

Anyway, I made my way, walking over the slabs ahead, turning one per one into green circles. I was about to smell the victory when... I just noticed I forgot one that was stuck in the middle of a few others that I already activated. I walked over a green one, and here now it turned into a blue triangle... I think I screwed this puzzle, literally... Arg... I approached the button, and pressed it with my foot. All the puzzle turned red again. Well, seems like I had to find another strategy...

Meanwhile, Papyrus didn't seem to mock my failure : he just kept the same grinning expression, lifting one of his eyebrows higher than the other. (I wasn't sure what to associate that with... was it a challenging look on his eyes ? Something like a boasting, or playful look ? Strangely enough, if these previous options hadn't come to mind, I would have associated it with a certain kinky feel, but I wasn't sure whether it would be very accurate considering his behavior so far and what Sans told me about him... well, maybe it was just one of his strange habits). He seemed to focus on my game more than anything else, and it kinda, if anything, perturbated me.

Well, I made another shot... and soon enough a third shot... but it looked like he kept staring at me. I bet he was really into what I was doing !

But still, I had to stay... determined. There was a scent of challenge in there that kinda added to the fun, although I'd have prefered to be in a warmer place at the moment...

And I think my wish came true right after that last try.

« JEEZE ! YOU DID IT ! I WAS SURE ABOUT IT ! HUMANS ARE SMART ! », he shouted joyfully, « LET'S GO BACK HOME AND REWARD YOU NOW! »

/

There was this table they set in the middle of... that empty livingroom. I and Sans sat down there Papyrus just disappeared.

« hey, thanks for accepting his request and all, you really make him happy with that», the short skeleton said, « he really loves puzzles... in fact... », he paused, « back at the time they were meant to capture humans. not only with these slabs you see but with more complicated ones he would set... »

Capturing humans, capturing humans... Was it like an obsession underground ? It seems like there used to be a whole society built out of the hatred toward humanity. Brainwashing maybe... or was it actually, that from their birth to their adulthood, they used to be drowned inside an ocean of ideology against the human kind ? All of this, just for something that happened centuries ago... And yet, it was with the stake of their deliverance from underground. However, today, this broken barrier didn't seem to have changed much eventually the human society and the monster one still couldn't find an agreement together. Thereby, there was still a sort of hostility... and according to what Toriel said, I really came to wonder whether today homicide had become illegal...

« … but you know what », Sans added, « just by looking at his eyes you figure it was just for his love of puzzle. plus he wanted to become popular and to join the royal guard, that was the prize in exchange... but... he wasn't doing this for the personal matter of human killing. he even let the previous human leave after capturing them to befriend them instead... i mean, you really believe he forgot to lock the door of the garage, considering it meant putting aside his prize ? well, maybe but... »

I didn't know what to say...

« … papyrus is so innocent... he won't hate ya personally. »

Oh, innocent ? Yeah... so I imagined. It was probably very really silly from me to try to give a sort of meaning to his grin. Of course, I had to conclude that was self-assurance. Still, I guess Sans had the tact to reassure me when my thoughts were turning dark from what he previously said...

« … like, one day during our childhood, after he did some silly mischief, i... happened to spank him. he kinda cried, i felt bad... heh, but ya know, doesn't seem like he hated me for this then and promised to behave better... »

Spanking the Papy, eh ?

« … huh, hey, buddo. forget about this. silly memories, ya know ? », that he did to correct himself, probably feeling kinda awkward.

When talking about the devil, here he was now coming with a plate of spaghettis. He didn't give any to Sans ?

« MADE ESPECIALLY BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS ! HOPE YOU'LL LIKE IT, NYEH HEH HEH HEH ! »

I looked at him for a second he smiled like he absolutely wanted to scan my reaction from his 'wonder'. Well, guess I'd take a bite out of it, eh ?

I enrolled some spaghettis around the fork, and moved it toward my mouth... and just after laying the piece of spaghettis comfortably on my tongue, I didn't need to analyze the flavor any longer... I think I frowned, then did whatever my face wanted to do to cope with this, like probably a tensing expression. Nah, that... was... ODD. OR EVEN... HORRIBLE. INFAMOUS. What the heck did he even put in there ? Where did he cook this ?

« DON'T TRY. MY EYEBROW CAN GO UPPER THAN YOURS. »

Was he even kidding me... ? Anyway, Sans seemed to hold himself from giggling...

« Uhh, hey... Pap... pap... heh... », I tried to say, without knowing much what to say in fact...

« I KNEW YOU WOULD LIKE IT. IT WAS MADE WITH ALL MY LOVE ! ~ »

« I... can tell... hehehe ... », I lied, or whatever meaning « love » had for him.

« I... I... I'M GOING TO MY BEDROOM NOW. YOU KNOW WHAT ? HAVE FUN BOTH ! NYEH...HEH...HEH... »

And here he disappeared again...

« i'm sorry... ya know, he still is learning his cooking lesson, but believe me it was even worse before... », Sans said.

«Ahh... aah, worse, eh ? Where does he even learn how to cook ? »

« undyne, one of his friends... well, maybe you'll get to meet her later », he just replied.

I painfully tried to take another bite of his... uh... well... maybe if I drank a cup of water with it like meds, it would have passed better. The short skeleton stared at me, once again with this strange distracted expression he had at Grillby's...

« Sauce... all around my mouth, that's it ? », I smiled.

« uh, eh... hehehe, yeah », he answered.

« … You like this, don't you ? », I said with a teasing wink.

He seemed to blush a bit. I found that funny (but oddly cute at the same time)... I suddenly got caught by a strange curiosity that leaded me to test a bit his reaction.

« Well, what if I let you lick it... ? »

He looked kinda surprised at my sudden approach.

« hey, you won't make me fall for it », he said trying to catch back a more assured expression, «... life ain't easy, ya know ? »

Oh, so here is the kind of guy Sans was... there was like a sort of defy I could sense through his words.

« Well, Sansy... just what if... »

I approached his temple, where there was like a hollow (probably from which he could listen...)

« … what if, this same sauce I wiped off was... ketchup ? », I whispered.

I sat down back on my place, from which I could now perceive his uneasy expression, with what seemed to be drops of sweat flowing over his forehead.

Well, he had been teasing me after all, all along my journey with him... I couldn't help but find some amusement throwing back the ball I received earlier. He stayed silent.

« In fact... I have not seen you eat much. Do you ever happen to eat something else than ketchup ? », I asked.

His awkward expression soon returned into its initial state.

« heh, yeah. pretty much everything you can eat, i can eat it too i guess », he merely answered.

Oh, right... the crisp crumbs on the floor of his bedroom...

« How do you digest ? You have no gut, nor stomach, right ? If you're a skeleton », I continued suddenly.

« right... well, either it's magic, either it's inside the bones, you know ? », he said.

I raised an eyebrow.

« … it's not like we've got a bunch of anatomy books about our kind », he added.

Well, magic...?

But if they ever happened to work only by magic, does it mean if there was no more, they would just... collapse like some vulgar sack of bones ? Still, if he can bleed as he said earlier (to surprise me, hey), there was maybe the other possibility anthropomorphic skeletons of their kind were actually carrying everything chimical they needed in their body to function properly. Magic would then only be a plus... I wasn't sure anymore... Over their clothing, I couldn't tell much about how they were made anyway. It would have been natural for me to draw a regular skeleton with all these bunch of holes between the bones that can't carry anything... but by looking at them something was wrong... and not only the closed structure of their skull.

Still, more I wondered, more my curiosity to go further reached an upper degree... But after glancing at my watch, I figured the time wouldn't enable me to do so now...

« Well », I said, « Enough teasing for today. I guess I'll have to go... but first, I'm gonna say bye to your brother, you know ? »

Sans didn't say much. He looked kinda blank.

« yeah, he said he was upstairs», he just replied.

The short skeleton didn't follow me : he prefered to wait I come back (lazy, huh?)

I knocked on Papyrus' door, but he did not respond. So I did it twice... he still did not. I slowly opened the door, expecting any reaction from him, till I got to discover at the same time a _very tidy_ room to not say the least, and a Papyrus who was sitting in front of his computer, his hands covering his face (from what I could guess while standing behind him). I wasn't sure whether it was sobs that I could hear or...

« Hey, Pap'... are you alright ? »

« ... », he did not respond.

« Anything is wrong...? »

« … HUMAN. »

… ?

« … YOU... YOU DIDN'T LIKE MY SPAGHETTIS, RIGHT ? »

« Papyrus... »

« THAT... THAT WAS THE SAME EXPRESSION THE PREVIOUS HUMAN DID TO ME. I KNOW IT NOW... I NO MORE NEED TO... TO... LIE TO MYSELF, RIGHT ? »

I didn't know what to answer to this... I didn't even know he'd take it _so_ personally.

« … MY SPAGHETTIS SUCK. I CAN'T COOK PROPERLY. I TRY, AND I TRY... B-BUT... I FAIL... »

« Pap... Papyrus... I'm really sorry if that's the feel I gave you... I didn't mean to hurt you, or anything... »

« THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT. THIS...THIS IS MINE... »

« … You know. I'm sure you can do it, Pap'... (Are you ok with me calling you Papy or Pap' in fact?) »

« ARE YOU SURE, HUMAN … ? ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE STATING ? »

« Y-yeah... uh you know what ? »

« ...WHAT ? »

« Maybe... I could teach you next time I come, how to improve ? I mean, you know, Papy... », I approached him very unsurely, « this is with determination that you can do it... regardless the time it might take. »

Papyrus kept sobbing.

« Hey you know... that's what makes us strong: we try, and we fail... but we try again, and we keep kicking till succeeding someday ».

He looked at me now, probably rediscovering my face from the first time he saw me. I wasn't sure whether...

« P-PLEASE... KEEP IT FOR YOURSELF. I DON'T WANT ANYONE OR SANS TO KNOW THAT I... CRIED. »

« It's ok », I offered him my arms, « I won't tell anyone about this ».

He accepted to be wrapped around them. As strange as it seems, I got to figure his body also had a very personal scent and some warmth it felt like the _living matter_... I remembered once upon a time, Toriel offered me her embrace, and here I was now... today, the one to offer it to somebody else.

« Well, I have to go now, but if you want... », I took off my phone from my pocket, « … I can still give you my phone number ». And he took it.

« ANTHY... », oh he called me with my name now ?, « WOULD YOU HANG OUT WITH ME NEXT TIME ? »

I couldn't turn down his demand, considering the situation. I think his tears dried over his cheekbones. Still, I had to admit I wasn't sure what to expect from what he called _hanging out_...

« Alright. Papy. »

After saying good bye, I left his bedroom and joined Sans back now. Sans just removed his right hand from his pocket and handed it foward me. A short silence set itself between us... but I shook it.

« Well, that was fun I guess », I said.

« bet it was », he merely replied.

« We'll have some more teasing later, eh ? », I attempted again.

He just grinned (as usual you'll tell me).

« life ain't easy, remember ? », he suddenly threw. And I smirked.

Well, that was it...

… Good bye.

That's gonna be one hell of a long way ahead to join the surface now.

* * *

 **Samiful note 2** **:**

 _ **« I KNOW,**_

 _ **CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE**_

 _ **I CRYYY... JUST A LITTLE,**_

 _ **WHEN I THINK OF LETTING GO !**_

 _ **OH NO,**_

 _ **GAVE UP ON THE RIDDLE**_

 _ **I CRYYY... JUST A LITTLE,**_

 _ **WHEN I THINK OF LETTING GO...**_

 _ **WHEN I NEED A HEALING, I JUST LOOK UP TO THE CEILING, I SEE THE SUN COMING DOWN, I KNOW IT'S ALL BETTER NOW... »**_

 **(« I Cry » - Flo Rida)**

 **Sorry, couldn't help but share some silly reference in there !**

 **Pap...Papy...Pap...Papyrus...Pap... nah, sorry, just loving how that just sounds, can't help. Puhpairus ! That really sounds fun in the mouth, really...** **Still, I wouldn't be the right one to teach him how to cook, as I'm myself a real mess at this... But hey ! I'm just the writer after all. I guess the protagonist would do a better job instead...**

 **/**

 **It's funny because I figured how despite all the ideas I've got, writing a chapter is such a dynamism! You quickly figure sometimes you can't write everything in ONE single chapter, otherwise it would be way too fast, so you have to extend... also, sometimes you decide to change the order of your ideas, and stuff, estimating one would be better before or after another rather than what it was initially imagined... and sometimes you'll just rather not write a few, because that wouldn't fit well anyway.**

 **Still, hope you liked this chapter.**

 **And, before I forget...**

 **Thanks for the first (yet anonymous) review I received earlier ! I mean... that's really amazing, and it surely is a great basis of support. You're awesome. Thanks again. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

I was comtemplating the snowflakes that were falling down the sky through the glass of my window. All the city below was white : the rooftops of the houses and the buildings,the cars in the parking lot too... And the life down there would just walk peacefully to go wherever I didn't know...

« Be good, my children » : those were the last words Toriel had pronounced before our departure yesterday. Needless to say how climbing the slope inside that cave had been a real torture, and needless to tell you how many breaks we had to make before reaching the surface... because, hell yeah, if descending had been quite long, the other way had, clearly, been what you may have wanted to call an _intense training_. Still, I guess that could have been a pretext to say I had exercized at least...

After driving Théo and Beño at theirs, I had noticed my sandwiches had lost a bit of their quality, but were still edible... I was taking a bite of them, while playing Call of D., remembering I had not turned the console off in the meantime ! That's gonna surely be some more electricity charge to pay at the end of the month...

I just finished my coffee now. It was about 8AM... I think that had been quite a dreamless sleep last night... but yet, a very restful one. I checked my phone, to realize I had forgotten to ask Sans about his number... oh well. Next time. Still, I came to think about these figures I had met during this journey... Although Toriel was apparently an old lady, she looked kinda cute... and kinda imposing. I wasn't sure about the ages over there was it like us, or like over there they had an astronomical number of years behind their steps ? In fairy tales, and fantastic movies, books, and whatsoever, it's often like this... the astronomical number. « I am 1200 years old » : common, eh ? I could also question the difference of age between the two skeleton brothers... In fact, they were both so different... or shall I say, opposite actually. Sans seemed to be very mature, calm, and patient... yet, loving his puns, but hey. He took particularly care of Papyrus with his « bedtime stories », but he was still a lazy ass, and confessed it was pretty good to have someone to take him out of that... I wasn't sure whether he was refering to his duty regarding taking care of his bro' properly forcing him out of his laziness, or if in fact Pap also happened to take care of Sans...

Papyrus, on his side, sounded terribly innocent... and loud. That was a pretty active, ball of energy if anything. His height still could say he was probably near his adulthood (if not in it). Still, in terms of adulthood we'd usually associate this kind of behavior with some serious mental disorder, but I could not tell : we are talking about monsters who have not grown in the same society as we have, humans. Maybe it was just his personality... in fact. Unlike Sans, I noticed with surprise how his bedroom was tidy (?), which kinda seemed to lower his childish side for some reason. Well, I didn't know anything about their education, or their parents after all...

If there was the human kind and the monster kind, I had to think about subcategories of monsters then... because obviously they were not all skeletons, or goats. I wasn't sure either whether they had at least had in their life anatomy courses, but with different specifies of monsters that might be kinda complicated... except if there was a basis that was common to all of them.

Still, I remained perplexed about this matter of « magic » over there... was it so different, or kinda similar to our atoms and neutrons over here... We are made out of 99.9% of emptiness, apparently. In fact, maybe we are all made out of magic at a certain extent... if physical laws were just one side of them.

I texted Théo. Maybe he'd like to go buy some shit with me this afternoon... I think I have exterminated the food inside my fridge, eh ? Damn... I eat like a pig...

Seems like he said yes. Cool... yeah. Cool... heh.

/

He had already made a list of what he needed for his pie : I guess he really wanted to test his new skills.

I was looking around the mall : all of this was so familiar, all the smell was what gave me at the same time the urge to eat, but also this feel of tranquility... I had my mind back at the usual, the usual life... and I knew another Call of D. party was waiting for me at home. Probably the benefits of a few vacations from my usual job in a little store...

« So you see, after taking the bus with her, we went to the park of the neighborhood, and... we walked, heh... yeah», Théo said.

« Well. So you had a crush on her, right ? », I responded.

« I... I mean, she's cool and we've got to chat a few times... but, between us... »

« ... »

« I... I haven't stopped thinking about her lately... I wanna see her again, I think... you see ? »

« You got a crush on her, then. »

« Ok, call it like that... uh, eh, Anthy, what should I do ? »

We kept walking toward the next element of his list... and I got to ponder for a little bit...

« Invite her home ? »

« Ah... uh, you think she'll be fine with it ? », he asked.

« Well... », I said, « why not trying ? »

He seemed to be thoughtful for a few seconds...

« How can I ask her to come at mine ? »

« Basically, it seems like you're getting along pretty well... so why not laying things like... », I looked for the right words in my head, « 'Hey, if you want you could pass by at mine ?' when the context would be adequate... »

« Adequate ? »

« Duh... like it's raining and you're close to your home, or phh... like you have something to show her in there... or some common homework to do... Damn, be imaginative, man ».

« Are you sure, she wouldn't... uh... »

« … ? »

« Think I'm a creep ? Like I take her home to... »

« Woah...woaah, like a rapist? I can't predict her response, but that's why you have to be careful with the context, heh. Oh, and you... I know it's not your kind », I replied with a friendly giggle, « but anyway, tell me how things go, huh ? »

« I'll... I'll try... »

« Good. »

I let him grab his powder from the top shelf (that was pretty high by the way for some reason... probably the sadism of the sellers who work in here) ... when suddenly the sachet fell and dropped a bunch of powder everywhere on the floor, and on Théo. I tried to hold my laughters.

« You are white, now », I remarked.

« HOLY SHIT ! WHAT THE... »

Some passers stared curiously at my friend, who could _ unfortunately _ not hide much from the disaster... A member of the staff came over here.

« Sir, you don't need to clean up. We will take care of this, and we are sorry for the... uh, unpleasant experience », he merely said to Théo (who glared at him, without responding anything. He sighed)

When we went to the cash register, the cashier stared at the white man next to me. « Don't ask », Théo advanced.

Needless to mention all the looks he received till my car. I put my jacket on the passenger seat next to me so he could just sit on it, without soiling anything. It's ok... I'll wash my jacket later then. He sharply sat down, leaving another sigh out of his mouth. I figured the level of annoyance that was filling him right now...

« You want to get back at yours, I guess », I said.

« Don't know... », he simply answered.

« You don't want to... change ? », I asked curiously.

« You're right. But wanna do something else after? »

« Sure. What's your plans ? I was about to go back to mine, though. »

« My pie... But then... heh », he smiled.

I smirked, stupidly.

« Hey, if you want you could pass by at mine then ? Hahahaha... »

Théo looked kinda amused.

« Aaah, are you dangerous to hang out with alone ? »

Dah...

« Sure. So tell me, Théo... », I paused, « … do you think I should rape someone the common way, or with a strap-on ? »

« WHAT ?! », he jumped.

« Hahaha... well, you asked », I concluded.

We ended up agreeing to pass at mine.

/

He was mixing the ingredients in a huge bowl.

« So wait... », he said with a frown, before eventually leaving a confused smile, « you say you met two living... skeletons ? »

« Aye. »

« DAAAAAYUM ! SO THAT'S WHY YOU WERE SO MUCH LEAVING ! »

« Exactly. »

« I didn't fuckin' imagined there would be THIS KIND of monsters over there ! »

« There are, there are, believe me... »

« But like... seriously, like... how did you even react... ? I mean, that must be like the shit out of the creep ! That must be creepy ! », yeah, could tell he looked really fascinated by the news.

« After meeting a speaking goat, you already end up thinking you turned insane, so... another odd being in the list... »

« But like... SKELETONS. That was like... HUMAN SKELETONS ? Or... SOMETHING ELSE ? »

« To be frank, they... kinda looked like human skeletons, but... not exactly... there was a resemblance, but with a bit of uh... _fancy_ look ? Eh ? I mean... »

His round eyes blinked while he was probably listening carefully. He stopped mixing his stuff...

« Tell me more about them ! », he ended up saying.

I told him about Sans and Papyrus, and more or less about their personalities... He kept adding his ingredients in the meantime, while working on the baking.

« So yeah... they're kinda different », I finished.

« Hey, between us, is any of them more... friendly than the other ? »

« Heh. I'm not sure at all... I have talked more to Sans... and he's a very nice guy actually. He told me he'd make me visit some more next time... you see the deal. »

« Oh », he raised an eyebrow, « Next time ? When do you plan to go back over there ? »

I took a few seconds to think about it... and to be fair, I wasn't sure at all... so many contradictions were working in my head. Now I came back, I still had my Call of D. parties to plan, and... some more sandwiches to make, or maybe...

« I... I'm not sure at all. Probably soon enough », I merely answered.

« What about tomorrow ? I could come with you ? », Théo just said, now staring at me, still with this smile that drew his enjoyment.

But yesterday we were over there, and I enjoyed myself... but I was taking my rest today... and tomorrow would be another day... I had exercized quite a lot in this cave, eh ?

« You... you've got quite a bunch of energy ahead to ask me this, while we just came back from the journey », I remarked.

« Tsst... don't ask. I'm gonna call Toriel for tomorrow and staying there for a few days...

« T...Théo ? »

But here he was already on his way seeking his phone and composing her number. I just gazed at him speechless...

When he came back, a wide smile lifted his cheeks. I sighed.

« Are you sure it would be fair to go without Beño ? He made us discover this place after all...», I said.

« See ? He's busy lately... »

« What with ? »

« 'Fiesta', he said... 'fiesta'... »

« Oh ».

Seriously, do I need to descend this cave again ? That's a pain in the ass... but at the same time...

« Come on, Anthy ! I'll help you make a few sandwiches, hey ! », he did while tapping my shoulder. I rolled my eyes.

« But first, let's enjoy that cinammon pie ! You know who got to teach me that one ! », he added.

« Well, yeah... »

« And then you'll make me meet... you know, skeletons ! The living nightmare... »

« Ok, if that may please you... »

« Cool, I'll get to know Sans then ! Hope we'll have good times, all that... »

* * *

 **Samiful note** **: _Anthy..._ _strap-ons are cool, but hypothetically speaking feeldoes may be more effective, heh... (for the ones who don't know what that is, Google check?)_**

 **Nah, more seriously ! _(takes off the earphones from his ears)_ I recently read my old fanfictions, written back at the time... and I got strangely surprised how eventually I ended up dealing with the same themes over the years ! This is while I believed when growing up I had really changed, that finally I discovered I was just following a sort of line... that's quite funny I guess. At the same time, I get to figure how my English has pretty much improved. Yup, finally this Undertale interest is just one of these (temporary but yet **_**very**_ **interesting) experiences. May that be for X or Y reason useful in the future... dunno.**


	5. Chapter 5

_Papyrus was standing here in front of the pan, where he was boiling the water for his spaghettis. On the other side, the tomato sauce was laying there to be used later..._

 _« Hey, Pap'. You did a good job ! », I said._

 _« I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ALWAYS DO IT RIGHT AT SOME POINT, NYEH HEH HEH HEH ! »_

 _« Hehehe, you did... »_

 _« NOTHING CAN STOP ME ! WITH SPAGHETTIS! »_

 _« Yeah, right... Hey, Papy. »_

 _« YES !? »_

 _He turned back to face me, now with a curious look._

 _« Besides spaghettis.. would you take a moment to... talk ?»_

 _« ANYTHING YOU WANT, HUMAN ! »_

 _If that's the way you take it... everything should be easier for me then..._

 _« There is something I wanna know... », I layed a hand on the lower part of his torso._

 _« UH OH... MY BATTLE OUTFIT ?! »_

 _He smiled, amused I guess._

 _« More like... »_

 _I descended my hand toward his hip, after skipping the space of his non-existent waist, where would stand his spine._

 _« OH. LEMMIE GUESS ! YOU WANT A HUG ?! HEH ! FINE ! GIMME THE HUG THEN ! »_

 _« Not really... », I said while playing with my fingertips over the cloth of his briefs before the tights on his legs._

 _« … HAHAHA... EH, DON'T DO THIS ! YOU'RE TICKLING ME... YOU... YOU WANNA PLAY ? »_

 _« Yes, I wanna play... »_

 _« SOMETHING ELSE BUT NOT TICKLING ! PLEASE ! »_

 _This childish grin was still present on his face._

 _« So... tell me... », I kept rubbing his leg with my fingertip._

 _« I... I SAID STOP IT! YOU ARE TICKLING ME ! », he shouted after pushing my hand away. His face seemed to have changed of expression. Pretty much a grimacing one..._

 _I placed my hand back to the cloth of his briefs..._

 _« YOU... YOU ARE REALLY DETERMINED, AIN'T YOU ?!»_

 _« … I wonder what's under this ? »_

 _He left a little silence, before responding._

 _« MY LEGS ! NYEH HEH HEH HEH ! »_

 _« … Not this... Papyrus... », I said before moving my hand more toward the center of his undies, « You know what I am talking about, right ? »_

 _« ... »_

 _By looking at his red face, he seemed to really be grimacing now, pretty much like confusion I guess or awkwardness..._

 _« Hey, it seems like there is quite some matter under those... »_

 _« ANTH...AN...ANTHY... WHY ARE YOU... DO...DOING THIS ? », his voice was trembling._

 _« I'm curious, that's all, Pap... »_

 _I locked the door of the kitchen._

 _« ARE... ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO... PLAY SOMETHING ELSE ? IT... IT'S NOT FUNNY WHAT YOU... YOU ARE DOING TO ME RIGHT NOW... », he desperately tried to pronounce._

 _« You are cute when you look embarrassed and vulnerable like this, Pap... »_

 _« NH... NH...», he tried to talk. He could no more say anything..._

 _« Lemmie take those off... I wanna see what's in front... I wanna see what's behind... I wanna see how that damn pelvis of yours is built... and... you know... Pap. »_

 _« LE...LEMMIE GO AWAY... I BEG YOU... ANTH...ANTHY... », he was about to cry now._

 _« Act like an adult now, you know ? Be a big boy », I suggested._

 _« I... I... I... I WANNA GO TO THE BATHROOM, ANTHY... I... », he sobbed now._

 _« You'll go after... »_

 _« I... I REALLY NEED TO GO... », he said, lost in some sorts of desperate tears._

 _« Nah. Later... »_

 _He tried to move, but after looking behind he figured his hands were magically tied to something. I got to discover it at the same time... I might have tied him up earlier..._

 _« WH...WHY ?! I... I... »_

 _« Shht... You're wasting some energy over something useless... Hey, keep it. You'll need it to at least scream and take it... »_

 _« … AN...ANTHY... WHAT ARE YOU... T...TA...TALKING ABOUT ?! »_

 _« … HARD », I finished._

 _« H...H...HARD ? », he difficulty tried to repeat._

 _I rubbed with my hand what seemed to be his crotch over his briefs, which seemed to appeal to a more important amount of tears coming from his eyes. I might actually want later to switch his position, like bending him over... but for some reason, I felt like it would be quite easy to do. I started taking off his briefs, and soon I'd go to his tights... if I shall not tear them apart..._

 _« N...NO ! NOO ! STOP IT ! I... I DON'T WANT ! N... NH... », he did while struggling..._

 _I stopped a moment, to lick the tears out of his cheekbones. A part of his outfit was wet from the amount of them that fell in the meantime... This was just the beginning of the process..._

 _/_

… ?!

Uhh... aahh... ah... I... holy shit, that... that was just a nightmare. Damn it... what time was it ? Ugh, 3AM ? Damn, here I was sweating now... I was surely not the queen of this kind of drama.

I left my bed, still puzzled by the dream I just had now. I took a glass of water to calm down... Alright, I shouldn't panick. Nothing happened... that was just... a bad dream. I... I still ain't sure what to...

Guess falling back asleep will be a hard job now...

* * *

 **Samiful note: **

…

 **What ? I was reading my Traffic Laws book while writing this chapter !**


	6. Chapter 6

**Samiful note** **:** **So, where did I stop already ? Hmmm...**

 **Owh, shit. Did I even write this ? Nah... I'm sure I did not. (Duuuh... )**

 **Well, to sum up my last days, I would have said... ^qdikosdsqdqdjds... a lot of procrastination ! Not only to write this new chapter, but also outside of my computer, like skipping classes, sleeping... and down moods. Today, I'm found with an issue in my left foot that neither the doctors and the radiologist can really explain. (Here we are advanced lol)**

 **But anyway, as I gotta rest, I'll use my time at least to go on with this story, and with my activity on DeviantArt if I ever find the d-e-t-e-r-m-i-n-a-t-i-o-n for it. /o-o-o\**

 **Hmm... hmm... well... so here we start ?**

* * *

Today, the atmosphere was foggy. Théo didn't say much on the way... if anything, we prepared everything before leaving. Seemingly, there was not a lot of cars on the road, which probably turned out to be a good advantage. Maybe because we were Sunday morning in fact... and people were mostly sleeping or taking their time in front of a good coffee. Yes ! In fact I would have been doing this in a regular Sunday morning... then I would have been reading my daily journal (something classic and stereotypical, you'd say, right?) and if in the mood, a little jogging time would have been welcome.

But I knew this morning wouldn't have been like this anyway. Actually, that was quite a sleepless rest of night... this nightmare... had been something that I could hardly get out of my head. I wasn't sure how, or why it had to be this way... and I didn't stop questioning it for a bunch of time. Catching back some sleep had been **impossible**. There was the memory of Papyrus' sobbing voice echoing in my head, begging for my mercy... and this expression on his face... and there was this other part of me that I could not control, like a possession of my mind that I could, at this moment of the dream, neither judge, nor question and stop. The dream had its flow... it was not against my will, nor standing for my moral values. Yes, another me. That was it.

« Hey, Anthy », Théo started, « you ok ? »

I left a blank expression... I had to watch the road, still...

« Yeah, tired », I merely answered .

« So we'll get to see Toriel again ! That's cool, eh ? »

« Yeah. »

…

« … Uh, well. I know what you think », he continued, « you'd have prefered to stay on your couch at this time, right ? Uh... well, you think it's my fault, because...»

I would have prefered it this way... maybe. But there should also be a bit of decensy in my words for this morning.

« It's fine, Théo. You know, eh... », I paused, « it's good to enjoy your vacation time sometimes, right ? »

He didn't respond back. I noticed he played around with his fingers, before checking his phone, and pressing a few buttons on it. Did he contact back that girl he was talking about by the way ? I thought I'd ask.. but probably later.

/

We arrived. I parked the car somewhere, and we approached the cave. I sighed.

« We'll get to exercize some more, eh ? », I added.

« I guess so... », he shrugged, « I've still got some aches from two days ago, you know... »

…

« It was your idea, Théo. We haven't forgotten anything ? »

« I don't think so... ? »

The gleaming mushrooms in the cave... for some reason I still got to find them fascinating. If anything, I got to wonder whether I wouldn't grab one on my way back home... it could be quite some interesting decoration after all. But for this, maybe I'd have to ask for some more information (wasn't sure whether they were poisonous ? And how to take care of those after all?) To be fair, I didn't know anything about mushrooms in general...

For sure, after 10 minutes of descending, I was no more up to return back ! Théo seemed to be kinda tired... Sometimes, I wonder why he gets to take such decisions. Was it maybe the amazement of the underground that made him want to come back regardless his physical conditions ? He seemed to have really enjoyed the anthropomorphic goat's presence. He succeeded perfectly in the making of his pie. His... pie ?

« Hey, I kept some in my bag. I want absolutely Toriel to taste that ! », he said.

We carried clothes, tooth brushes and sandwitches to spend several days in there... Why didn't I carry my video game console... ? And my Call of D ? Still, the sandwiches were there... about 10 if I remember right, but what if...

/

We knocked on Toriel's door. A few seconds of silence passed... and I got to think about what to say... did it bother her that we came over in the morning ? What if she slept at these hours usually ?

… she opened.

« Hello, my children », she said with her usual peaceful voice. We greeted her back, and she made us enter. « … do not make too much noise, someone is uh... sleeping », she added.

Someone ? I and Théo exchanged a few glances.

« I see you have carried some things with you... Oh, are you hungry ? Maybe you would like to have a breakfast ? », she asked with an interrogative expression. Well, why not after all ? We knew eating at hers was always a pleasure. She layed some bread on the table, with marmelade, and butter, and milk, and... usual breakfast things in fact !

« Maybe you would like coffee ? », she asked.

« Of course ! », I replied.

Théo took something covered out of his bag.

« Here it is », she said later with a quite friendly smile on her face. It just felt like pleasing people was for her a great moment of pleasure, even for herself.

« Hey uh... Toriel », Théo said suddenly, « you would like to taste that ? I made this pie and... »

She accepted, obviously. She was probably confident enough about my friend's performance... she took a bite of it.

« This is quite good », she commented, « I really like it. I am very proud of you ».

Her smile turned contagious : here we had a very smily Théo who probably had now his day made out of it. I joined the smiling movement, like a sign of approvement regarding my best friend's cooking abilities. We knew Toriel had this power to bring the mood up, and we knew Théo could do something good out of his will when he liked what he was doing.

« Oh, by the way... », I introduced, « … would you mind if I put these few uh... sandwiches in your fridge ? (I'm not sure there would be enough place for 10 of them though, but...) »

She acquiesced and I got to discover that if we played some Tetris... it was possible to leave some space inside!

« They look nice », she said, « what are they all for if you do not mind me asking? »

Well...

« I love sandwiches. Kinda of an addiction, so... I got ten of them. However, maybe that's quite a lot and I might probably not need as many so... », I paused, « I thought I could give you some as well ? If you'd like to taste as well... »

Her smile erased her questioning expression.

« Of course ! Why not for this lunch ? This sounds like a very good idea, my child! »

/

I and Théo were leaving Toriel's, heading toward Snowdin. We agreed to make him visit some places, such as Grillby's... I got to tell him about the warm (heh, literally warm) atmosphere over there. Plus I was wondering whether they were open a Sunday morning after all ?

Quite paradoxical to go over there, though, while we had just eaten the breakfast ? But, oh well... if not Grillby's, it could have been anything else really.

Soon, we joined Sans' post, behind which... we got once again a sleeping Sans ! Théo raised an eyebrow.

« What is... uh, this ? », he asked.

Oh, this... ?

« Guess who that is », I smiled at him.

He scanned the shape of the sleeping creature without approaching too much.

« Hmm... big sort of round 8-shaped head... big eyes (by looking at its shut eyelids)... weirdly big grin... and a sort of atrociously big dark hole on its nose ? Like something close to a skeleton.. ? »

I nodded. He opened his eyes wide.

« Is... is it... », he tried.

I kept smiling at him.

« S... Sans ?», he concluded.

(Yes).

He frowned.

« Hmmmm... », he did, « … the shape of the jaw... doesn't look very skeleton like for some reason... »

I shrugged. What else could I say after all ? Sans was a monster. I could just tell there seemed to be some differences between a regular skeleton and what a skeleton shaped monster was... I was sure Théo eventually turned out to find this fascinating as well.

I realized Sans probably didn't even expect to see me around at such a time... and probably not today either. I turned out to approach him though, and to poke him gently with my finger.

« Anthy ?! Wh...what are you doing ? », Théo questioned.

…

« mmmh... hmm yeah.. ? », the sleepy Sansy responded.

« Hi there ! », I exclaimed.

« eh... uh, eh what ? anth...anthy ? whatcha doing here ? i believed you had left underground ? », Sans remarked after rubbing his eyesockets.

« I did... and then I came back, hahaha ! », I merely explained with a (silly, I guess) smile. The short skeleton blinked after noticing Théo's presence.

« Uh, uh... hi ? Hehehe... », my human friend said shyly, or awkwardly.

« hi... uh...»

« Aaah ! Hahaha ! How silly I am... well, so here is Théo, my best friend. He came along with me last time but he stayed with Toriel... »

« nice to meet ya. i'm sans the skeleton... guess you haven't seen me on my best position right now, heh »

« I kn... oh, uh nice to meet you, Sans. That's a pleasure », Théo answered with another timid smile.

« What's up ? », I asked.

« oh buds... you don't know how i hate working in the morning. at this time of the day i should be sleeping normally... but you know, self-conscience, all that... heh », Sans replied.

« You sleep in the morning ? », I continued. Well... perhaps that wasn't very surprising considering his laziness...

« welp. a problem with this ? »

« Uh, hey no », I quitted the conversation.

He still left his post to eventually have this walk with us. But then he stopped.

« hey kiddos. you know what ? this time i'm not gonna do it till snowdin i guess », he interrupted.

« Why ? », I questioned.

« 'cause... well. telling ya to keep going till snowdin and to find me there when you'll be arrived, capiche? »

« Uh, but... Sans, how do you... », I did and...

… and he disappeared. Right in front of us. I and Théo exchanged a few shocked _What-the-fuck_ like type of glances. Literally. What happened ? He was here chatting and...

We looked behind, in front, right, left... nothing. He wasn't around !

« Anthy... what... »

« I don't know, Théo. I don't. »

… so guess we had to keep going till Snowdin. What else than some morning walk after all ?

/

Here we are. We didn't see any Sans around though. I looked at Théo questioningly but he just answered by a shrug. We kept going... till Grillby's. Were about to enter when...

« hey, friends. wanting to pay a visit to my favorite bar ? »

Aaah... here he was standing behind us. Damn him... teasing was his job, in fact.

« How did you... », Théo started.

« magic is fun, y'know ? », Sans responded.

« Uh, oh... the word we use when we can't explain things, ah ? », my best friend continued (damn, I loved his repartee sometimes).

« whatever you call this », the monster simply said.

…

« Hmm... don't you think it's kinda odd to go to Grillby's when we ate the breakfast a moment ago ? », I interrupted as Sans was about to open the door.

« oh... hey. you know what ? there is no right or wrong time to come and chill at grillby's. »

He sounded very confident about this...

We entered the bar. There were just two monsters who were hanging out in front of a table. Théo was analyzing the place : guess it wasn't that bad for him to discover something new after all... Sans invited us to come join directly the counter. He asked what we wanted to eat or drink...

« I... I don't know. I mean, you paid for my meal last time, remember ? », I retorted. He took a few seconds to think...

« hey, you know it's not very expensive over here. but if you insist... », he shut his eyes as quite often in the midst of his speeches, « you have the right money to pay on your own ?

He marked one point there. I wasn't sure whether...

« hey grillby », he did before the called one approached to listen, « you accept any other kind of money than what we usually use here ? »

I laid some on the counter. He grabbed a coin and analyzed it for a moment.

« Hmmm... I guess there must be a way to convert those », the fire man responded, « I would accept, but... you know what ? What about having a free meal or drink for today ? This is always a pleasure to see you around... and I know you are doing your best to welcome these newcomers ».

« Are you sure that... », I tried to ask before that...

« Of course », Grillby interrupted.

How friendly of him... I had never seen any barman of this kind before.

Oh ? My phone was ringing !

« Excuse me », I said, « receiving a call ! »

I left the bar to answer. It was quite surprising how the underground afforded the network to pass !

It was dad, who was wondering whether he could pass by in the store. He needed something in there... I explained him I was on vacation. He asked then whether I couldn't just open it with the keys, even outside of my work time ? Hell yeah... that was right, I could just access to it this way, and I wasn't sure about what kind of explication I could give him to tell him my current situation.

« I'm sleeping at a friend's for a few days ! », I just said. And was it really lie ? Not really. Toriel was my friend after all...

« Does this friend live far from the store ? », he asked. Errr...

« Well, yes ! Beyond the mountains I shall say, hahahaha... », I just responded.

…

« Alright, my darling. I'm not going to bother you more than this, then. Tell me when you'll get back home, so I can take what I need, ok ? »

« Sure thing, daddy. I won't forget ! »

We said bye, then he hung up. Thankfully he was quite understanding in a way... I wasn't feeling like needing to find any other excuse to explain him how things were going... He could be quite nosy sometimes, but he still felt like he should leave a gasp in my privacy and let me live on my own...

I entered back the bar. I approached when I perceived Sans scratching his... ass (?), while chatting with Théo. In fact, did he have an ass considering he was a skeleton ?

… well, I think I already wondered this question before. And to be fair, was Sans a regular skeleton anyway... ? I mean... that was Sans after all. How could I tell what was under his pants...

Oh, here they turned back toward me. I... wasn't sure what to say. Hopefully Sans didn't attempt to read in my mind this time.

« ...you want anything ? », he asked. No blushing drew itself on his face, I figured he probably did not try.

« Oh ? Uh... ah... well. I'm not very hungry. It's like what ? 10:30AM ? That's it ? », I responded.

« heh, not even a drink ? », he said still with this grin fixing at me.

« Uh... yep. Maybe later, what about it ? »

« … i see. if you want anything», he shut his eyes, « don't hesitate to ask... »

I think it was most likely me who started blushing this time. Kinda perturbated... What the heck was wrong with me anyway ? I tended to interpret things quite in a strange way, today...

/

Waterfall, that was the name ? It kinda looked like the cave from which I and Théo came to pay a visit underground. Gleaming mushrooms here and there... We were about to go to Sans', but we didn't know what to do in there. According to him, Papyrus was probably hanging out with Undyne at this time... having his usual cooking lesson. Papyrus... ?

« oh heh, here is undyne's house... kinda like ashes, right ? », Sans said.

« How come ? I mean... where is your brother then... ? », I asked probably after lifting an eyebrow.

« at her other house, heh. papyrus told me she set fire on this one after giving some cooking lesson to the previous human ».

I pondered a bit... cooking lessons with this Undyne, right ? Hmm... what kind of teacher was that ? I began to relate with Papyrus' last spaghetti performance...

« Hey Sans, little question », I started.

« yeah ? »

« Uh... are Undyne and Papyrus in a sort of relationship ? »

…

He giggled a bit before responding.

« these two ? nah... in fact undyne already has a girlfriend.. », then he turned his gaze at me, « why you asking ? »

I wasn't sure why I was asking either. Probably to know some more about their friendships, after all...

« I mean... do you really know what they do together ? Heh... », I responded, pretty much puzzled.

A silence set itself... Sans looked absent-minded. Did I ask something wrong ? Did I go too far ?

« to be honest, i don't but... », he paused, « i know it's not papyrus' kind to uh... want more ? »

…

« How can you tell your brother has no sexual drive from time to time ? », Théo suddenly brought up, with a neutral look on his face. (Him, and his random repartee again...)

I tried to suppress a laughter... Sans seemed to blush a bit.

« you know, i'm not the kind of brother to check what he's doing 24/7... you see ? (i can be a cool bro too, hey) and i'm not saying he doesn't need sometimes some uh... lonely pleasure (because even kids get to discover their body at some point, believe me, buddo). but i know it's not his kind to... to have this kind of flirt with somebody else. anthy, you'll find out when you'll hang out with him today... he told me you would anyway, so... »

Hanging out with him ? That was right ! I totally forgot about this... I made him this promise. Something like a ball inside my stomach formed itself... The thought of being alone with him made me feel uneasy.

This is when we were about to leave the sight of the burnt house that we...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH !

« oh hi, i didn't want to scare you... i was just passing by, and i saw you around so i wanted to say hi », something like a ghost shaped monster said.

« Uh... uh, hi ? », I replied.

« oh uh, that's kinda awkward... i forgot to introduce myself... i can be so stupid and useless sometimes, right ? »

« Nooo ! Don't say so », Théo interrupted, « my name is Théo, and this is my friend Anthy. Oh, and here is Sans there, if you didn't already know him...What about you ? »

Sans merely greeted them with a quick hand gesture.

« i'm napstablook. i just live near here... there isn't a lot of people passing by since awhile ago... i'm kinda lonely.»

For some reason, I happened to feel bad for this ghost. They didn't seem very mean... In fact, I would have spent some time with them if anything.

« Hey, Napstablook, we could... », as in an illusional research of sign of approval, I quickly glanced at the two others who were just staring at me silently, « ...what about hanging out together ? »

Napstablook didn't change anything on their facial expression : they were still making this sort of lost or expressionless face...

« i...i... i wouldn't say no. uh, thank you i guess. i can make you visit where i live then, if you want... », the ghost just said.

I acquiesced. Sans and Théo didn't say anything and followed.

That was a quite empty wooden house in which we were. A fridge in a corner, and a computer at the opposite side was on. Just by looking at the screen, I figured the ghostly monster was using a music website before joining us earlier.

« Aaah, there... there are spider webs ? », Théo said with a worried expression on his face.

« Seems like it », I answered, « you're scared of spiders ? »

« Hell, yeah ! I... I... », he tried to say, still containing his anxiety to stay in place. I kinda felt a pressure on my shoulders then, telling me I'd better not stay for long for his sake. Napstablook didn't seem to notice anything though.

« make yourself home... », they simply said, « oh, you are hungry ? you can take anything in my fridge if you want... »

No, thank you, we're fine. We have already eaten enough, plus lunch time is approaching, eh ?

But still, for some reason they invited us to... lay down on the floor. They justified himself though : « this is a ritual i usually do... you wanna do it with me ? »

Lying down on the floor ? That sounded quite strange... Théo seemed to still feel uneasy at this idea.

« You don't need to do it, if you don't want », I told him to reassure him somehow. But he violented his mind, and eventually accepted to lie down with us...

Five minutes later, I heard sleeping noises next to me. When I turned my head, I realized Sans fell asleep ! Wasn't sure whether I should wake him up, or...

« G...guess we can just leave him sleeping there, uh, what about leaving the house and doing something else ? », Théo suggested.

Napstablook took us outside, where we could see the sight of another similar house standing next to theirs... but that one looked pink, while this ghost's was white (?)

We moved to the left, to find something with... snails ? Yeah, strangely colored snails, but snails, still.

« yeah... used to be more animated before, but as there are less visitors lately... want to try a snail race though ? it will cost 10G... », the floating being said.

I don't have this kind of money with me. Golds, that's it ?

« I'm sorry... look at what I have », I just said.

« oh looks cool... », they responded though, « i can take one ? »

Ah ? Well... Gave them a coin of mine then. And there they accepted. We picked a snail for the race, that they told us to support to win... A snail race ? That just sounded interesting after all...

So here we'd start...

3...

2...

1...

GO !

We shouted, I and Théo were supporting the same snail ! « YOU CAN DO IT ! GO ! GO ! GO ! » (well, Napstablook was telling us anyway the snail would understand we're encouraging it...)

The ghost' snail was going forward, soon reaching the goal ! But we stayed determined ! Our snail could do it ! Aye !... Do it... that's what we waited for, anyway...

…

till Napstablook's snail finally reached the goal, and... ours had not even moved a centimeter. I and Théo exchanged a few looks. _(They're kidding us, right?)_

« oh... well. you probably encouraged her too much », the ghost said.

Théo rubbed my back to reassure me about the coin I wasted... _At least I made one monster happy..._

In the meantime, Sans just joined us back behind.

« hey kids, had fun ? », he randomly threw.

« Had a good sleep ? », I responded.

« i guess so », he said, « but guess i'll have to get back to work soon ».

Ah ? Wait... I realized by checking my phone that it was noon ! Arg, haven't we told earlier Toriel we would eat with her ? But still... Sans was about to work again, and maybe he'd like to...

« Hey Sans », I said, « I... carried two sandwiches with me in case... you would like one ? I made them myself, and Théo helped, and... well, if you ever get hungry... »

He blinked.

« oh thank you, i... well, why not, i could taste that »

But as I saw Napstablook standing there, I decided to propose them the second. However, they turned down my demand. « thank you... you're cool. i think i have got enough in my fridge... »

And I didn't insist.

We got to tell them bye (and we'd perhaps get to meet them again later on ?), to leave Waterfall... along with the calm silence, only broken by the melody of the waterfalls on the way. There were these big flowers that were standing there too...and that I got to find pretty impressive. But I didn't ask anything about them.

/

« This is very good », Toriel said.

I smiled. Théo did as well... Perhaps, my performances regarding sandwich making have been increasing over the time... A bit of a fancy taste to change the ingredients inside, and to do extra mixes/original attempts... This is when she pronounced this compliment that I got to feel like eventually that wasn't such a bad thing. This addiction was not, after all... I still happened to taste different things from time to time as well, and usually even the mixture inside the sandwiches made my meals balanced. That wasn't unhealthy... was it ?

« Oh, by the way... », she added later after finishing my offer, « you told me about these mushrooms that you wanted to collect, my child... »

That was right.

« I think I have a book that could interest you actually. Follow me », she said before getting up, gathering her hands behind her back.

On this shelf that was standing in the livingroom, I noticed several books were containing in the title something about snails. Did Toriel happen to be... a fan of snails ?

« Here it is... », she grabbed it and handed it to me, « you can take it as if it was yours, my child ».

I opened it and quickly slipped the pages on my thumb. There were several references about mushrooms in it, including the ones I got to encounter in the caves... that one could be handful after all.

« Thank you... I will never get to thank you enough for... everything that you... have done for us so far », I said sincerely.

She nodded, confidently.

« This is my pleasure », she claimed, « my pleasure to have you with me. I also have to thank you for all these good times we are having together ».

/

5PM. In front of the skeleton brothers' door.

« Are you sure Sans finished his work, or that there is even anybody inside ? », Théo asked.

« … Nop », I shrugged.

Ah ? Steps getting closer, the door is opening itself... but not being unlocked ?

Hmphh...

« HEY ANTH... HEY ! TWO HUMANS ! HELLO ! », a Papyrus said, standing in his usual ' battle outfit '.

« Oh, hey, Papyrus... », I merely said before looking at Théo then back at the skeleton, « that is... uh, my friend Théo. »

« Hi, nice to meet you... », Théo responded.

« UH... », he lowered his eyebrows while looking aside before redoing a joyful expression, « YOU CAN ENTER I GUESS ! »

It wasn't a few seconds after we entered that the taller monster yelled : « SANS ! COME DOWN ! THERE IS THE HUMAN WHO CAME BACK UNDERGROUND... WITH A FRIEND ! »

A sleepy Sans descended the stairs...

« hi again, buds », he simply said.

« SO YOU ARE COMING TO TEACH ME BETTER COOKING TRICKS ? THEN HANG OUT ?! », his bro kept yelling, « THAT'S GREAT ! WE CAN ALREADY JOIN THE KITCHEN ! »

I and Théo joined the kitchen...

« OH, WAIT... », he redid this looking aside expression, « I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE TO BE PRESENTABLE... I WILL BE RIGHT BACK. »

And here he left us alone... I and Théo stayed alone in the kitchen...

« Hey, uh Anthy... »

« Yeah ? »

« Wow... I mean... »

« … ? »

« All of this was kinda unexpected... »

« Hahaha, you bet it was not », I said.

« Hey, between us... »

« Hm ? »

« Sans looks kinda creepy, with these eyes, right ? »

« Kinda, yeah... »

« Haven't you noticed how... », he paused, « how this look... a very special look... like he can read in your mind sometimes... or something... », he remarked.

« I know right... »

« By the way... what's this room next to the kitchen ? »

« Ah, right... »

The bathroom... we entered the bathroom, to satisfy his curiosity. I noticed the washing machine was open. An underwear was left there, on the floor.

« Looks like Papyrus' kind of underwear », Théo remarked. I raised an eyebrow.

« I guess... it is his... hahaha... », I answered.

« Do you think it was washed ? »

…

« Oh well... you know, anyway that's just a skeleton who wore it. What's the deal ? », that I said to probably give the illusion of a subject that should not tickle anything in my mind.

« … Are you sure ? », Théo threw, still staring at the underwear, « you can advance this fully ? » _(Damn, sometimes his repartee...)_

« Advancing it, eh ? », I repeated, seeking a common understanding.

« Well, he is just a simple skeleton. So that's not a big deal, right ?»

« Is it right to...»

« I know you are sinful enough to do it... you are vicious », he smirked.

Uuuuuuuuuh...

« Alright, I can prove it ! », I grabbed the underwear.

« You bet... just smell it, behind », his smile got wider.

I gazed at him suspiciously, but anyway... after hesitating, I approached my nose to it, under his attentive stare... and I...

…

My jaw dropped. I got paralyzed for a moment. My life stopped for a moment. It. Was... I... I...

« Hahahahaha ! », Théo laughed, « was it so GREAT ?! »

« ... », if my face was red, or blue, or yellow... or green... or anything.

« I noticed there was a stain», he just said, « that's why... »

« Théo... what the... how come he... HE... ?! »

« Well... what ! He is a living being like us, after all... but that was interesting, I guess », he kept smiling sinfully while looking at me.

And obviously it is at this moment that...

« hey, guys, just wanted to pass by... », Sans did as I saw him appearing.

He stared at us for awhile, before I noticed his face started... blushing. Holy shit... I wanted to cover my face now.

« … uh heh... uh... buds... you got to know papyrus already uh... have fun ? », then he left, probably as perturbated as we were at this moment.

« Théo... »

« Ok, ok! But what ? You didn't say no to try !»

God... Damn... It ! We'd better join the kitchen. And thankfully we did at this time...

« NYEH HEH HEH HEH ! I'M READY ! »

Papyrus was wearing a t-shirt with 'COOL DUDE' written on it, and... simple pants. I exchanged some looks with Théo, who shrugged at me, then. He just found some excuse to join Sans in the meantime. And here I was now left alone with... 'COOL DUDE', aka... Papyrus.

I wasn't sure how to deal with it, at all.

… But I tried.

« So, uh, let's see what you got in the drawers already ? »

Uncooked spaghettis... I guess we could just start off this way... he also had of what to use for tomato sauce... well, guess that could be a deal. I suggested that he'd start in front of me (and then I'd get to figure how he usually cooks ? And where he made his mistake?)

…

But I quickly regretted it.

« NYEH HEH HEH HEH ! »

He was taking abruptly the ingredients, crutching the tomatoes like he was about to punch someone... and about to throw the pasta in the bowling water like a thug... BAM ! No... wait. I caught his arm. He stopped. I... kinda felt awkward, he looked at me curiously.

« Papyrus... no. Don't... you're being violent... you can't cook this way. »

« THIS IS HOW UNDYNE SHOWED ME TO... »

« No... »

« … ANTH... »

« Listen... »

He did this aside looking expression again... I guess that's a habit of his...

« ALRIGHT. IN THE BEGINNING I ALSO THOUGHT I SHOULD BE LESS HARD BUT SHE INSISTED AND... »

I did it in front of him. He just watched me doing...

« You wanna try this way now ? »

He took the spoon abruptly again.

« No... smoother... »

…

And that's after some time he seemed to have got it. I noticed he wanted to throw some other random ingredients, and that the baking process would turn into a mess... Sans wouldn't have thanked me for letting him burn their house.

« SO THAT'S IT... »

« Yeah, it's bowling, now... great, huh ? »

« NOT AS GREAT AS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS ! NYEH HEH HEH HEH ! »

… wow, ok.

« Well, that will still be a nice dinner, right ? »

« … IT SURELY WILL ! », he simply answered loudly.

In a way, I felt relieved... by the turn of the events. It could have been worse, after all...

This is after the dinner (that everyone enjoyed seemingly), that I got to « hang out », with him... but what would that « hang-out » mean for him ?

He took me to his bedroom... yup, his bedroom. He shut the door behind us, of which the slamming noise made a sort of echo in my mind for some reason...

« COOL. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I GET TO DO THIS WITH SOMEONE! WOW. I FEEL SO EXPERIENCED RIGHT NOW ! », he shouted joyfully, putting his hands on each side of his jaw...

« Oh, really ? »

« SO FIRST STEP. AGAIN... UH... WAIT . WHAT DID THIS BOOK SAY ALREADY ? », the aside look on his face, « AH YES. ASK THE PERSON IF THEY WANNA HANG OUT... SO HEHEHE... DO YOU WANT TO HANG OUT ? »

…

« Uh... what.. »

« PERFECT. THANKFULLY IT WASN'T WRITTEN THE PERSON HAD TO ACCEPT. »

What's this notion of consent he had... ? I felt like talking to a 10-year-old boy. Just by looking at his room, with the figurines standing on his desk... I was no more sure about his age... but yet, once again, unlike Sans', it was tidy...

« NOW... UH... YES. PRESS Z. »

Z? What... ?

« THE BUTTON, THERE... », he showed me a little object with a button and a screen... I pressed it. There were a few information on it, such as uh... the population on earth, and the weather...

« WOAH HAHAHA... I FEEL SO INFORMED RIGHT NOW. »

Holy shit...

« NOW, I... »

« Hey, Pap... »

He shut up for a little while, enabling me to say something (at least).

« … what about doing something else ? What else do you do when you hang out, with Undyne for example ? »

« WHA-... ? », he looked surprised, « … OH. NYEH HEH HEH... WE... CHAT ? WE EAT TOGETHER, AND SHE GIVES ME COOKING LESSONS ! »

It was now teasing my mind again...

« May I ask you a question ? »

« YES ? »

« … Uh... hey, is Undyne your girlfriend ? »

… moment of silence.

« OF COURSE ! SHE IS... A GIRL FRIEND ! AND YOU ARE ALSO A GIRL... FRIEND, RIGHT ? OR... BUT SANS TOLD ME YOU WERE A GIRL, SO... »

Ok, guess I'd just take him outside... we went downstairs, till meeting Sans, who kept grinning at me.

« sup », he said, « sounds like you're having fun »

« SANS. THIS HUMAN IS SO... AMAZING ! I REALLY LOVE HER ! »

« oh, love her, heh ? yeah, ain't she _**sans**_ ational... », he just set teasingly...

« Hey, Pap », I interrupted, « is Sans your... boyfriend ? »

Sans looked suddenly alert. « what ? »

« … OF COURSE SANS IS MY BOY FRIEND ! HE IS BOTH MY BROTHER, AND MY BOY FRIEND... RIGHT ?! », still with this innocent grin.

I started giggling. Sans didn't react like me though, as his face had changed of color...

« uh, ehhh, hehe... cool down bro... »

« IT COMES NATURAL FOR ME TO LOVE MY OWN BROTHER, WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE MY FRIEND. RIGHT, SANS ? »

Hahahaha...

« uh hehe... i love you too, bro », he answered awkwardly.

We went outside, where I and Papyrus played a puzzle together. Sans was still with Théo at their house. We sat down in a bench. I started feeling kinda tired after this long day... I thought when coming back to Toriel's I'd get to tell her at some point about my adventure with the skeleton brothers. She didn't know what we were doing outside... did she happen to wonder in fact ?

« HEY, ANTHY... », Papyrus started.

« Yeah ? »

« I... IT'S WEIRD TO SAY BUT... »

« Hm ? », I stared blankly forward.

« YOU KNOW THIS FEELING OF HAVING SOMEONE WHO CAN SPEND SOME TIME WITH YOU... AND WHO CAN MAKE YOU SMILE LIKE THIS WHEN THEY ARE NEXT TO YOU... (ALTHOUGH I ADMIT IT'S NOT LIKE I HAPPEN TO STOP SMILING BUT...) »

What was he trying to say... ?

« YOU ARE AMAZING. I... I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CALL THIS FEELING I'M HAVING IN MY HEART... »

Wait, what ?

« … SO MANY THINGS TO SHARE. THE LOVE OF COOKING... AND OF PUZZLES... I WISH WE COULD DO MORE OF IT... TOGETHER.»

Uuuh... yeah, I mean...

« YES. I THINK I TRULY START APPRECIATING YOU... »

Oh.

« Hey, that's what you call friendship, right ? », I interpreted more or less roughly.

We were back at their house (it was warmer in there) and Papyrus was tired. He went to sleep... Sans left us alone for a few minutes before coming back.

« his bedtime story, you know the deal », he commented.

« I see », I said.

« So how was it ? », Théo asked.

« Well... I felt like I went 15 years backward ! », I replied with a laughter. (Well, I was 25)

« hey, anthy », Sans said, « thank you for taking care of my bro... i know i already said it, but it's nice to see him happy like this ».

« It's fine », I answered, « having someone happy is always a good thing, right ? »

« the spaghettis you both made were... very good too », the short monster commented, « your lesson was surely a step forward for him ».

« I wonder who Undyne is though... », I remarked.

« oh, that... », Sans said, « you might probably get to meet her at some point ».

Meeting, meeting, meeting...

« hey, if you want », he proposed, « i could make you visit hotland tomorrow... and maybe other places around ».

« Hotland ? », Théo repeated.

Sans eventually gave us his phone number. I and my friend were about to leave back at Toriel's when I remembered I forgot my bag in Papyrus' bedroom.

« hey, guess he must be sleeping now... just be discrete i guess », Sans suggested.

I went upstairs, joining Papyrus' door, which I happened to open slightly without, yet, avoiding that small creaky noise...

From the small angle I created, I realized Papyrus wasn't sleeping. He was standing there with his phone on... but what was he doing ? I tried to analyze more the situation when I discovered from the slight light that passed through the room that he had taken off his clothes... directing the camera of his tool toward his... crotch (?) that I couldn't see from where I was. With this grin on his face... he was taking a selfie.

No, no, that could not be possible... Or was it ? This playful grin, and eyebrow expression he was doing was no more having its main innocent meaning it used to have... It was no more the childish Papyrus I was seeing standing there, but a kinky, adult-minded grin that was drawn now on his face...

I started sweating, staring both in shock and confusion. I tried to shut the door discretely, to go back downstairs (he hadn't noticed me, right?)

I joined back Sans and Théo.

« So, we go now ? », my best friend asked, « oh, wait... where is your bag ? »

« I... eventually I guess I'll let Papyrus sleep », I lied.

« hey bud, if you want i can go take it for ya... », Sans suggested.

« No, no, no... it's not a big deal ! I'll take it back tomorrow ! », I insisted (hoping Sans wasn't reading in my mind at this time...)

« Are you sure ? », Théo tried to confirm.

« Yes, I am ! It's ok. Don't bother... »

« fine then... », Sans did with a shrug, « whatever you want ».

We exchanged a few « see you », and good night wishes before leaving.

The night was no more early. May Toriel still be waiting for us, or already laying in the world of her dreams...

* * *

 **Samiful note 2** **: Pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew !**

 **Damn it, that was a long one ! (Probably to compensate the 4th and the 5th chapters that were pretty short, we'll say lol)**

 **It's like 4AM and I'm supposed to wake up at 6AM for an exam... plus I haven't studied yet. (I'm nothing like an example to follow... now you figure what kind of « procrastination » that is...)**

 **Yeah, in fact I wasn't thinking about the underwear part when... someone on DeviantArt happened to start a very _particular subject_ about Papyrus when talking to me... and as I can't do things right, I... yup, I wrote the idea that came to mind after this. (Yaaay...)**

 **PS : Nah, in case you had a doubt, I haven't been refering to Underfell in any part of this chapter... Papyrus was just... canon Papyrus. **

**PS2 : Canonically speaking, in the world of Undertale's fandom, I noticed Sans blushed in blue... right? (Wow, the movement has taken so much extent it feels like now saying the other way would sound illogical) Well, tbh I haven't been taking any party on my side so I've never really specified whether it was a red or a blue blush... guess it's up to you to imagine it the way you want!**

 **Anyway, take care everyone !**


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